British government – religious faith an “eccentricity” practiced by “oddities”
Churchill is largely attributed with that wonderful quote on England and America when he said, ‘Two nations separated by a common language’. In reality there is much that divides the two nations, and a fundamental difference between the two is views of religion as an influence on government. In a recent survey we reported that in the US 53% would not vote for a well-qualified Presidential candidate if he was an atheist. This contrasts sharply with the UK where candidates are careful to hide their religiosity. A good example being Tony Blair who only openly declared his Catholicism after he left office.
Well it seems some in the upper echelons of the church in the UK would like the system to be closer to the US model. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has accused the government of treating religious faith as an “eccentricity” practiced by “oddities”. Williams went on to criticize government members were wrong to think it was no longer relevant to society. He also said political leaders should be more open about their beliefs. However, there are many voters in the UK who won’t agree. Forever etched in their memory will be the image of the row of US Republican Presidential candidates all raising their hand in the affirmative when asked if they believed in creationism over evolution on a TV debate. There are many who sigh and are happy that religion doesn’t play an open influence in UK elections
But Dr Williams told the Telegraph: “The trouble with a lot of government initiatives about faith is that they assume it is a problem, it’s an eccentricity, it’s practised by oddities, foreigners and minorities.
He said the three main party leaders “curiously” all have a “very strong moral sense of some spiritual flavour”.
“The effect is to de-normalise faith, to intensify the perception that faith is not part of our bloodstream. And, you know, in great swathes of the country that's how it is.”
He said it would not do “any harm” for political leaders to be more open about their religious beliefs.
“Part of establishing their human credentials is saying ‘This is where my motivation comes from… I’;m in politics because this is what I believe’;. And that includes religious conviction.”
BBC News – Religion seen an ‘oddity’ by ministers, Archbishop says
