[patriots] Fw: The Death of Christianity in Britain

From: Kate <talk2ktc@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 7 Dec 2015 10:43:09 +0000 (UTC)

MONDAY 07 DECEMBER 2015LAST UPDATED 1 MINUTE AGO  This will have the secular
pluralist appeasers jumping for joy...strange how it is always this kind of
person with 'connections' who advocates such globalist thinking of the future
vision...

Britain is no longer a Christian country and should stop acting as if it is,
says judge Butler-Sloss.

A major inquiry into the place of religion in modern society has provoked a
furious backlash from ministers and the Church of England
   The return to religion Photo: ALAMY by John Bingham and Steven Swinford
12:01AM GMT 07 Dec 2015538 Comments   Britain is no longer a Christian country
and should stop acting as if it is, a major inquiry into the place of religion
in modern society has concluded, provoking a furious backlash from ministers
and the Church of England. A two-year commission, chaired by the former senior
judge Baroness Butler-Sloss and involving leading religious leaders from all
faiths, calls for public life in Britain to be systematically de-Christianised.
It says that the decline of churchgoing and the rise of Islam and other faiths
mean a "new settlement" is needed for religion in the UK, giving more official
influence to non-religious voices and those of non-Christian faiths.   Baroness
Butler-Sloss Photo: PA  The report provoked a furious row last night as it was
condemned by Cabinet ministers as "seriously misguided" and the Church of
England said it appeared to have been "hijacked" by humanists.   The report, by
the Commission on Religion and Belief in Public Life, claims that faith schools
are "socially divisive" and says that the selection of children on the basis of
their beliefs should be phased out. It also accuses those who devise some RE
syllabuses of "sanitising" negative aspects of religion in lessons and suggests
that the compulsory daily act of worship in school assmblies should be
abolished and replaced with a "time for reflection". The Archbishop of
Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, (second right) arrives for the General
Synod of Church of England meeting at The University of York.   Photo: PAThe
report backs moves cut the number of Church of England bishops in the Lords and
give places to imams, rabbis and other non-other non-Christian clerics as well
as evangelical pastors. Meanwhile the coronation service for the next monarch
should be overhauled to include other faiths, the report adds. Controversially,
it also calls for a rethink of anti-terror policy, including ensuring students
can voice radical views on campus without fear of being reported to the
security services. And it also recommends new protections for women in Sharia
courts and other religious tribunals – including a call for the Government to
consider requiring couples who have a non-legally binding religious marriage
also to have a civil registration. It also suggests that Thought of the Day on
BBC Radio 4's Today programme should include non-religious messages. A woman
wearing a black veil Photo: ALAMYThe Commission on Religion and Belief in
Public Life has attracted particular controversy because of the seniority of
those behind it. Its patrons include Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of
Canterbury, Lord Woolf, the former chief justice, and Sir Iqbal Sacranie, the
former general secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain. While gathering
evidence the commissoners met key players including including Justin Welby, the
Archbishop of Canterbury; Ephraim Mirvis, the Chief Rabbi; the Home Secretary
Thersa May, and senior executives at the BBC and Channel 4. The Church of
England said the report was a "sad waste" and had "fallen captive to liberal
rationalism". Lord Woolf, 82, served as the most senior judge in England and
Wales for five years until 2005 Photo: ANDREW CROWLEYA spokeswoman for the
Church of England said: “The report is dominated by the old fashioned view that
traditional religion is declining in importance and that non-adherence to a
religion is the same as humanism or secularism." A source close to Nicky
Morgan, the Education Secretary, described the report's recommendations on
faith schools as "ridiculous". The source said: "Nicky is one of the biggest
champions of faith schools and anyone who thinks she is going to pay attention
to these ridiculous recommendations is sorely misguided." The report highlights
figures showing the decline in people who say they are Anglicans from 40 per
cent in 1983 to less than a fifth in 2013. Nicky Morgan arrives at 10 Downing
Street as David Cameron names his new cabinet Photo: ReutersIt says: "Three
striking trends in recent decades have revolutionised the landscape on which
religion and belief in Britain meet and interact. "The first is the increase in
the number of people with non-religious beliefs and identities. The second is
the decline in Christian affiliation, belief and practice and within this
decline a shift in Christian affiliation that has meant that Anglicans no
longer comprise a majority of Christians. "The third is the increase in the
number of people who have a religious affiliation but who are not Christian."
Photo: ALAMYIt goes on to say: "The increase in those with non-religious
beliefs, the reduction in the number of Christians and an increase in their
diversity, and the increase in the number of people identifying with
non-Christian religions: these are the settled social context of Britain today
and for the foreseeable future, as is the unsettled and unsettling context of
the international environment". Its central recommendation is for a national
consultation exercise to draw up a 21st Century equivalent to the Magna Carta
to define the values at the heart of modern Britain instead of the Government’s
controversial “British values” requirements. “From recent events in France, to
the schools so many of our children attend and even the adverts screened in
cinemas, for good and ill religion and belief impacts directly on all our daily
lives,” said Lady Butler-Sloss. A religious education class Photo: ALAMY“The
proposals in this report amount to a ‘new settlement for religion and belief in
the UK’, intended to provide space and a role for all within society,
regardless of their beliefs or absence of them.” The 150-page report sets out a
major shift away from Christianity in Britain – particularly the Church of
England - with the number of people describing themselves as having no religion
jumping from less than a third of the population to almost half in just 30
years. At the same time it highlights the growth of non-Christian faiths,
especially Islam, and an explosion in the number of newer Pentecostal and
evangelical Churches outside of the traditional denominations. But the report
stops short of calling for the disestablishment of the Church of England,
arguing that the special status of Anglicanism in England and the Church of
Scotland north of the border, has helped other faith groups and “enables them
to make their voice heard in the public sphere”. The House of Lords during the
State Opening of Parliament Photo: PABut it adds: “The relationship of the
Church of England to the state has changed and is changing, and could change
further. “The pluralist character of modern society should be reflected in
national forums such as the House of Lords, so that they include a wider range
of worldviews and religious traditions, and of Christian denominations other
than the Church of England” It goes on to call for all national and civic
events - including the next coronation – to be designed to reflect “the
pluralist character of modern society”. Although the commission does not call
for the abolition of faith schools, it questions the fundamental premise on
which they exist. “In England, successive governments have claimed in recent
years that faith schools and free schools create and promote social inclusion
leading to cohesion and integration,” it says. The world's most haunted hotels
Photo: Alamy“However, it is in our view not clear that segregation of young
people into faith schools has promoted greater cohesion or that it has not been
socially divisive, leading to greater misunderstanding and tension.” But it
also questions the approach to religion in universities and colleges, including
measures to curb extremism on campus- particularly demands for lecturers to
report students showing signs of extremism. “Free debate should be possible
without fear of students being labelled as extremists or attracting the
attention of the security services,” the report argues. The Lord's Prayer is
powerful Photo: REX FEATURES“That all said, universities will deal better with
religion if they approach it as something that belongs to their intellectual
discussions rather than an external factor with which they have to cope.” It
also urges the Government to rethink its approach to the Muslim community in
general, including consulting those it considers to have less “palatable” views
on policy. It says: “In its selection of organisations with which to engage the
Government must guard against the perception that it is operating with a
simplistic good Muslims/bad Muslims distinction, or between ‘mainstream
moderates’ and ‘violent or non-violent extremists’.” The report also suggests
setting up an “advisory panel” of religious “experts” to examine complaints
about coverage of religion in the press.

Follow-Ups:
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[patriots] Fw: The Death of Christianity in Britain

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