A survey conducted on behalf of Theos by ComRes found that 32 per cent of people believed religious freedoms have been eroded over the past ten years.
Would you agree that religious freedoms have been eroded over the past ten years in the UK? Personally I don’t encounter any restriction on my religious freedoms on a day to day basis, do you?
I acknowledge that every so often the media is emblazoned with some new heinous atrocity perpetrated against a Christian employee who has been asked to tuck their necklace cross inside their uniform.
Christians have recently won some major victories, for example, back in January the government lost in the House of Lords in its attempt under the Equality Bill to alter the law on who churches and other faith-based groups can employ.
Only yesterday a Catholic adoption agency won a landmark ruling, which seriously upset the humanists and of course their comrades in arms, namely, Ekkleisa.
There have been a few individual cases, mainly relating to employment, and some have been won, some have been lost.
I would go as far as to say that there has been outrageous legal decisions made in favour of “religious” sensibilities, Harry Taylor being the most recent prime example.
There has also been some eminently sound legal decisions.
I’m going to be forthright, are Christians more persecuted today in the UK, or is it that Christians have developed a persecution complex over the last 10 years as a result of certain Christian organisations who thrive on such legal cases? (Editors note, these Christian organisations have not been named for fear of incurring the wrath of their fearsome litigation departments)
Perhaps it’s time to stop worrying about our “rights” and simply get on with the job.
Third of people believe religious freedoms are being restricted
High-profile cases of believers being “persecuted” because of their Christian faith – such as the British Airways worker banned from wearing a cross around her neck – have led to many to question Britain’s commitment to religious tolerance, the research indicates.
The results came as an influential think tank warned that keeping religious voices out of public life “undermines democracy”.
In a paper for the public theology think tank Theos, Roger Trigg, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Warwick, called for more respect to be given to the right of religious freedom when it clashed with secular rights and principles.
He wrote: “A free society should never be in the business of muzzling religious voices, let alone in the name of democracy or feigned neutrality.”
The professor added: “We also betray our heritage and make our present position precarious if we value freedom, but think that the Christian principles which have inspired the commitment of many to democratic ideals are somehow dispensable.”
Tags: Christian Life, Christian Persecution, Law Moral Ethical
March 28th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
Hmm. I guess the vital clue is in the word “believed” in the title.
It might be enlightening to know the precise question as asked, the context of the survey, and the nature of the audience to which it was addressed. Without these facts it’s frankly impossible to consider it seriously.
And what real religious freedoms have been eroded? Can anyone suggest some examples?