Cameron’s ‘Christian UK’ fosters division
Print Edition
BRITISH Prime Minister David Cameron was accused yesterday of sowing sectarianism and division after stressing in an Easter message that Britain was still a “Christian country.”
The criticism came in an open letter signed by 55 public figures, including writers Philip Pullman and Terry Pratchett and the Nobel Prize-winning scientists John Sulston and Harold Kroto.
Cameron, a member of the established Church of England, has been increasingly vocal about his beliefs recently, and in an article published last week urged Christians to be “more evangelical” about their faith.
Commentators suggest he is trying to build bridges with the Church, which opposed government plans to introduce gay marriage, and following vocal criticism from many clergy of government austerity measures.
“Some people feel that in this ever more secular age we shouldn’t talk about these things. I completely disagree,” the Conservative PM wrote in the Church Times.
“I believe we should be more confident about our status as a Christian country ... and, frankly, more evangelical about a faith that compels us to get out there and make a difference.”
The open letter, organized by the British Humanist Association and published in the Daily Telegraph newspaper, disputes Cameron’s claims that Britain is still a Christian country.
It adds that highlighting the social contribution of Christians above others, “needlessly fuels enervating sectarian debates.”
The 2011 census found 59.3 percent of people in England and Wales said they were Christian, down from 71.7 percent 10 years earlier.
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