The UK has a very complex connexion to religion. Our head of
state is the head of the Church of England; England also has an established
church (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland do not).
Despite the position of the
Queen, religious affiliation does not matter in politics. A person can get
elected whether they’re Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, Jewish or atheist or
anything else. This differs greatly to the US where religion is extremely
important. This kind of secularism that we have is the right kind, where
religious affiliation does not matter and the church gets no say in government
(the five bishops in the House of Lords don’t have any real power). Yet there
is a dangerous precedent being set by cases of ordinary people. People have been
asked to remove crosses or other signs of religion from their bodies at work,
this is not right. I believe firmly in both religious tolerance and religious freedom, I believe that
people have the right to be proud of their religion and show their religion in
public but do not have the right to harass people who are not of their
religion. Wearing a cross to work is perfectly fine, on the other hand wearing
a T-shirt saying “God is better than Allah” is totally unacceptable.
We have to find the right
balance between religion and secularism in this country, the UK has a strong
connexion to religion and we should not force religion out altogether.
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| Rowan Williams, the Arch Bishop of Caterbury, who today completed his final Easter Sermon as Archbishop |
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