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Post 9/11 and the London bombings on 7/7, and against the background of fear of terrorism, the role of religious institutions has often been seen as inimical to social cohesion. The fundamentalism of the Christian right or of Islamic extremists is seen as part of the problem. London Citizens is a charity that for the past ten years has been bringing together mediating institutions such as churches, mosques, schools and trades unions to work together for the common good. In particular, I explore the concepts of authority, leadership, and followership in a movement known as Broad Based Organising, which owes its origins to the work of Saul Alinsky.
I describe the ability to get a very diverse set of institutions and people into active membership, together with a case study of the London Living Wage campaign, which has impacted on the living standards of low paid workers in London. The thesis is that the church and other religious institutions and membership organisations have a significant role to play in developing active and reflective citizenship, even in a society where lack of trust and fear of difference seem to predominate.