Lord Carey / PA
Lord Carey, a former Archbishop of Canterbury, has called on Christians to regain confidence in their faith and to speak about it. “It is simply a matter of freedom of speech,” he has said. His comments were prompted by a recent report which has found that Christians living in Britain are increasingly afraid of revealing their religious beliefs for fear of persecution.
In August 2014 the Equality and Human Rights Commission put out a call for evidence for what is believed to be the biggest survey into social attitudes to religious beliefs, including atheism. Over the next three months they received 2,483 submissions of evidence, of which the vast majority, 1,030, came from Christians. Atheists were the next most represented group, with 188 submissions.
The report’s 200 pages detail a whole range of examples, experienced by people who follow major faiths, minor faiths, or no faith at all, of discrimination and ridicule. But discrimination against Christians in particular was “a prominent theme”. as followers of Christ felt that “Christianity had lost its place as the predominant religion in the UK relative to secular views.”
Christians as a group reported that “It did not seem acceptable to criticise other religions in the workplace whereas anyone could criticise Christianity;” that “the ability to express Christian views in the workplace was believed to be opposed by employees who were LGB, by followers of other religions such as Islam and Hinduism, and by people who had no religion or were Atheists;” and that “the ‘devotions’ of Muslim employees were regarded as more protected under equality legislation than Christian ones.”
Examples included the law firm manager who recounted that “When I organised a Christmas party a couple of employees objected on the basis that the use of the word Christmas would promote a religious belief. We had to agree upon ‘an End of Year Party/Christmas Party according to your beliefs’. I was offended but the boundaries have become unclear.”
A middle manager working in education reported that, thanks to a number of reports in media of Christians being sacked for praying or having been asked to remove their cross, they had “become extra cautious (even anxious) about what I am and am not allowed to say.”
A Presbyterian nurse involved in family planning reported being “treated with disdain” and “ostracised by colleagues” after suggesting discussing abstinence with teenage clients as one of the many approaches to preventing sexually transmitted diseases.
And a Catholic respondent pointed out the double standards applied to Christians and secularists, saying that at their workplace “The wearing or ‘showing of’ crucifix, rosary or any other Catholic jewellery was forbidden, yet nose rings, tongue piercings and tattoos were ok.”
Writing in the Telegraph, Lord Carey said “Things have come to a pretty poor pass when, in a country whose history, landscape, literature and laws is so immersed in the Christian faith, we find that Christian believers feel forced to hide their beliefs in the workplace.”
But he said that most of the hostility towards Christians came not from those of other religions, but from atheists determined to exclude religion from public life.
“I have never found a single Muslim, Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist who was offended by someone wishing them a “Happy Christmas”.
“In fact, the main hostility towards religious believers comes from a very small minority of bigoted atheists who seek to banish all religious belief from public life completely. One family reported that a teacher told a class of children that people who believed God created the universe are “religious nutters”. A girl who retorted that she believed in such a God was then ridiculed in front of her classmates.”
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SOURCE: Breitbart
Donna Rachel Edmunds
