Places of worship in England will probably open for private prayer before opening up for small weddings and services, the Communities Secretary said.

Robert Jenrick said he understands why people of faith may find it “strange” that places of worship would remain closed when shops and other places may open in the coming weeks and months.

He said he is working closely with faith leaders and has convened a taskforce which has brought together “the main faith leaders”.

Mr Jenrick was asked at the daily Downing Street briefing about the reopening of places of worship, and he said he wants them opened “as quickly as we can”.

He added: “I understand how important it is for millions of people in this country, and I can understand how people of faith would consider it strange that shops, cafes, pubs, restaurants, many other settings, might be open in the weeks and months ahead, but not somewhere as important as a place of worship.”

Mr Jenrick said some faiths have already produced detailed guidance, working alongside Public Health England, on measures including cordoning off sections, ensuring cleanliness, training volunteers and restricting the number of people allowed in at any one time.

“I think the first logical step is probably to open places of worship for individual or private prayer, and that’s what we’re working towards with the faith leaders, and then that will be a springboard hopefully, conditional on the rate of infection obviously, to small weddings, for example, again very important to many people, and then in time to services,” he said.

Mr Jenrick added: “I’m hopeful that the work that we’re doing with faith leaders will bear fruit, and that we’ll be able to see places of worship open in the coming weeks.”

He said what is to be avoided is large gatherings in places of worship, “particularly because of the demographic in some faiths”, and referred to the particular problem of exhalation during the singing of hymns.

What are the basics? Well, over the last 2 decades much investment has been placed into dialogue and engagement projects, many of which have done some great work, though on a stop and start basis where groups have come in, organised sets of people together and then left, having ticked off a box. Or, depending on a specific theme, campaigns have been run which are based on shared experiences and shared interpretations of life experiences. So far so good, though have they made a real and long lasting difference to the integration of communities so that they feel a part of their local environment and communities?

Even after all of this investment, the pressures of austerity, global political instability, the rise of hatred and intolerance on social media and other factors have placed extreme pressures on communities in Europe and the UK. Add to this, the poison of Islamist extremism and their very adept social media tactics and the bully-boy anger and poisonous social media tactics of far right groups and it is easy to see why communities feel such pressure.

Any Integration strategy needs to reflect on life chances and opportunities and in giving young men and women hope for future employment. It needs to give women the options of having training, the chance to learn English, develop personal confidence and most of all, support perceptions that they have opportunities which can allow them to do something that builds a sense of self-worth in them, if they have not worked for years. Integration also means feeling part of a shared set of values, of belonging and of engagement with other communities and individuals at an equal level. Many of these things may seem aspirational, but they are the cornerstones of a holistic integration strategy, showing how complex and subtle this work is.

Then there are the more difficult elements of supporting institutional independence meaning that the use of public services come with them, a set of core values and ideals that need to be respected. If an institution believes that certain religious or cultural beliefs and practices may impinge on the rights of the user or on the rights of others, should they challenge them? More of these cases are coming to light and no doubt, there will be a greater frequency of such cases where schools may object to religious clothing. Such contentious issues are part of the Integration debate and no doubt, will elicit further responses. Within that public debate, there is no room for groups who attempt to bully and intimidate institutions. If we allow this to happen, we allow thuggery to become the norm and that must be resisted at all costs.

Lastly, we must always stress that integration is a process that can affect many communities. For example, is there a discussion to be had around the integration of some disaffected white men who feel that they have reduced life chances and who have not worked for many years? Such individuals may well feel marginalised and therefore, we need to get away from the immediacy of thinking that integration only affects migrant or Black and Minority Ethnic communities. It potentially affects all communities. 

So, as the Integration Strategy is in the process of being released, we hope that it covers a range of such issues and is not seen as a strategy just for specific communities. If it does that, it will be counter-productive.