Two out of three believers feel UK Christians are facing persecution according to a survey of Christians by Premier
Are UK Christians really facing persecution or is it more of a perception than a reality? I know that there is potential intrusive legislation that threatens the freedoms of Christianity, which I completely oppose, but can this be termed as persecution, especially when viewed through the lens of Christian persecution in Islamic lands and elsewhere.
Many outside of Christianity perceive Christians to be lamenting the loss of a privileged position and status within our culture, rather than anything else. Sometimes I can’t blame them, especially when I see headlines like these:-
Christian Institute – C of E to debate BBC’s marginalising of faith
Would this be an example of persecution then? On an aside, I don’t know about you, but I rather enjoyed the BBC’s recent ‘History of Christianity’ series by Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch.
Could it be that instead of Christian persecution in the UK, it might be more likely that UK Christians suffer from a persecution complex?
Two out of three believers feel UK Christians are facing persecution
Two out of three believers in the UK think Christianity is the faith which is most discriminated against.
According to a survey of Christians by Premier, people of all denominations also felt that they face a growing intolerance towards their faith in Britain.
And two in three people surveyed said they felt that discrimination is going to get worse over the next five years.
Peter Kerridge is Premier’s CEO and says he isn’t surprised by the findings:
“I think it confirmed what has been an undercurrent for the last few years that folk feel that there is a kind of discrimination going on.
“When you say you are a Christian, years ago that would have been seen as something that was good and valued and respected and now it is seen as extreme.”
The findings suggest a growing hostility towards religion in this country, which has been highlighted by a series of clashes between churchgoers and their employers.
Church leaders, including the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, have urged Christians to defend their beliefs after the suspension of Caroline Petrie, a community nurse, for offering to pray for a patient.
A series of cases over recent months have featured Christians who have been suspended after expressing their religious views, including Christian registrar Lillian Ladele. Ms Ladele lost her appeal against a ruling that she had not been discriminated against by being disciplined after she refused to conduct same-sex civil partnerships.
Churchgoers are cautious when it comes to sharing faith in the workplace for fear of being reprimanded or cautioned. Christians in the UK have claimed that the situation is made worse by the hostility they were facing in the name of equality and diversity.
Christian groups have expressed concern over the recent Equality Bill, which they fear would mean someone applying for a job as a pastor wouldn’t even have to be a Christian and that it marks a dangerous time to publicly express faith.
The Rt Revd John Hind is the Bishop of Chichester and sits in the Lords. He said he is nervous about parts of the bill:
“Churches and other religious organisations could find themselves being required to employ people in quite sensitive occupations who don’t live up to or share the standards of the religion in question.
“This really highlights the whole difficulty in the area of human rights against legal rights and how you balance the rights of one group of people against another.”
Tags: Christian Persecution
January 20th, 2010 at 1:52 pm
Sure, Christians are not being persecuted in the UK (as they are in Islamic lands and North Korea/China) but a: The constant negative portrayal and abuse on TV, and in other media, is the kind of thing that media people would never dare dish out to any other group (religious, racial, etc) – Christians are seen as fair game, the media being a very unfair world, and b: what we are surely seeing is the thin end of the wedge. There are many agressive anti-Christians who would very much like to highten the pressure, but they know they can’t yet, or they’ll be seen for what they are, their purposes undeniable … but introduce it gradually – and by the time real persecution comes, it’ll be too late to object. But would anyone really deny that real persecution will come one day, to Christians, in our society? Would anyone bet against it, risk money?
January 20th, 2010 at 2:03 pm
Nope I wouldn’t bet against it John
January 21st, 2010 at 2:11 pm
Hope you don’t mind John, but I used your comment in a post I wrote today:-
The Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Rev Michael Scott-Joynt warns Christians may have to give up public sector jobs because of secular agenda