Damien Hinds thinks we are a christian country

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Keawyeds said:
(Via Humanists)
Damian Hinds has made some extremely divisive remarks this morning in an attempt to justify faith schools, unlimited religious selection in admissions, and the Christian establishment generally: 'This is a Christian country.'

Well frankly Damien, we're not. We may have been predominantly at some point, when having the wrong religion was punishable by death, but we're not "A Christian Country" now.

Over half of British adults are non-religious. 71% of 18-25s are non-religious, and only 3% of them are Church of England. How then can the claim that we are a 'Christian country' be used to justify favouritism towards Christianity in law and policy?

The UK is a country which Christians, Humanists, Jews, Muslims, Hindu, Sikh, Atheists, Pagans (et al) live in.
The country was here long before people decided to impose their beliefs in it and on it.

Should you wish, you can tell Mr Hinds where to stick it.

Tell Damian Hinds: Not in my name! We are not a 'Christian country'.

Would you say we're a Christian Country?
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Our laws are predominantly based on a Christian ethical view
 
PhilSAFC said:
wheres that figure from
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The latest British Social Attitudes Survey conducted by the National Centre for Social Research.

A narrow majority said they had no religion.

Roger Harding, Head of Public Attitudes at the National Centre for Social Research, said: “Our figures show an unrelenting decline in Church of England and Church of Scotland numbers. This is especially true for young people where less than 1 in 20 now belong to their established church. While the figures are starkest among younger people, in every age group the biggest single group are those identifying with no religion.

“We know from the British Social Attitudes survey that people’s views are becoming more socially liberal on issues like same sex relationships and abortion. With growing numbers belonging to no religion, faith leaders will no doubt be considering how to better connect to a changing society.”
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nyron4england said:
this could derail thread so im gonna refrain. plus i cant be arsed to start a new one on UK education. i dont have the time to debate over the benefit of selective schools.
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Yes we're really not in a position to talk about that either!

PhilSAFC said:
it's not the majority view though is it. The majority of people in this country consider themselves Christian.
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They don't though, Phil. That's the point.
I said it in the first post .
Over half of British adults are non-religious. 71% of 18-25s are non-religious, and only 3% of them are Church of England.

girojim said:
When people like you go along with it it's never going to change is it?
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Possibly not, but unfortunately it'll take much larger seismic shift than I'm capable on my own.

cornish mackem said:
Our laws are predominantly based on a Christian ethical view
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Moral and Ethics shouldn't be claimed by religion. They should stand alone.
 
Keawyeds said:
They don't though, Phil. That's the point.
I said it in the first post .
Over half of British adults are non-religious. 71% of 18-25s are non-religious, and only 3% of them are Church of England.
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where is that figure from? the last census has about 70% as Christian.
 
Keawyeds said:
Yes we're really not in a position to talk about that either!



They don't though, Phil. That's the point.
I said it in the first post .
Over half of British adults are non-religious. 71% of 18-25s are non-religious, and only 3% of them are Church of England.



Possibly not, but unfortunately it'll take much larger seismic shift than I'm capable on my own.



Moral and Ethics shouldn't be claimed by religion. They should stand alone.
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The morals and ethics influence laws in this land and these are based on Christianity. The Ten Commandments are reflected in our laws. ( not all but mostly)
 
Mercia Blackcat said:
Practice the experience gained through Baptism with Spirit, mindfulness and perform actions from being conscious of that experience. It's all in the Gospels.

I did say that I identified more with Nazoreans than Christians with their supernatural concepts and beliefs.

Nazorean, Ebionite and Essene are all synonymous. In the south they were based at Jericho, not far from Qumran at the Dead Sea.
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Thank you
 
Arkle said:
I've been to a humanist funeral also and the aftermath, at least of a humanist wedding. They got married midweek at the reg office then did a bit of a pub crawl to their local/favourite pub where it was drinks on the house for wedding guests for the night (present from the landlord). However, to me, a naming ceremony just seems like it should be named a give us presents for our child party.



I tend to go with cheeses for Jesus.
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I think the endless commercialisation of Christian festivals has made people far more cynical. I grew up in a 1950’s village. Everything revolved around the church or the chapel. My best mate’s dad was the vicar, and my brother was mates with the Baptist pastor’s son. My dad was a Catholic, but apart from fish on Fridays we were brought up as CofE. We did so many things that the church was part of, but there was never a pressure in our lives to be strict adherents. I married into a Jewish family, but the kids were brought up without religion in their home lives. I think first, and foremost we strived to be caring, and kind, and encouraged them to be the same. I’ve really enjoyed the humanist ceremonies I’ve been to, but still well up at the sound of a good hymn, or carol.
My fear is the rise of Christian fundamentalism, and the preaching of extreme dogma, which some want to incorporate into laws. We must be watchful that we don’t allow these to take hold here.
 
Black Cat Gypsy said:
Britain like most of Europe was build on Christian values and laws. Whether you agree or not with them it's a fact. To say Britain isn't a Christian country is like say Sunderland isn't a ship building city. It's at the heart of city and is part of the history and culture.
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It's not now though is it? A ship no longer even features on our club badge.
 
PhilSAFC said:
where is that figure from? the last census has about 70% as Christian.
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In the 2011 census, Christianity was the largest religion, stated as their affiliation by 59.5% of the total population.

And as I pointed out before, there's a very large number of people who say they are Christian because they've been christened as kids, and think that makes them officially a Christian, whether they believe or not.
A question "do you believe in a God or Gods" With a break down question for those who answer "yes", would be far more valid.

But people don't want to ask that question. I wonder why...


As for more recent studies:

Even in that 41% of christians, many will fall into the "default response" that I outlined just a moment ago.
  • An ICM poll for The Guardian in 2006 asked the question "Which religion do you yourself belong to?" with a response of 64% stating "Christian" and 26% stating "none".
  • In the same survey, 63% claimed they are not religious with just 33% claiming they are. This suggests that the religious UK population identify themselves as having Christian beliefs, but maybe not as active "church-goers".
The meaning of "are you Christian" has been deliberately, and heavily blurred with "are you British".

An example for you. When people are in hospital, they're asked "what religion are you", and people automatically say "CoE" because it means "I'm British, you don't have to do something different with me". Many people dislike saying "Atheist" out loud.
 
stephen cartwright said:
Thank you
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I think the interesting thing is that Jesus brought Mosaic Law alive and explained the benefits of adherence, in that less following of temptation that began in the mind would result in less distraction and therefore disturbance of the experience gained through Baptism with Spirit. He clarified the benefits to the individual of following the Law as guidance rather than as dogmatic and moralistic compliance with a set of rules. He reinforced such mindfulness with advice not to worry about the morrow or bear grudges from the past, to live in the here and now and experience what was revealed within through that Baptism with Spirit he had performed. He also advised that people should speak from within that conscious experience....let the spirit speak. It was all about the living God within, the God of the living not the dead. Our inherent humanity, our true nature.

The Gospels misrepresent John the Baptist who it is claimed baptised with water for the removal of sins. In fact the historian Josephus gives a more accurate account of John who performed baptism with water after someone had followed the path and already achieved 'righteousness'. Baptism with Water was the graduation ceremony. Baptism with Spirit was the initiation ceremony. That is why Jesus went to John to be baptised with water, because John had been his Master.

The Nazoreans practised a practical and pragmatic religion that was about the living not the dead. Whether Christians like it or not, Jesus and his followers were from schools of the Essene and the ancestry of Jesus is full of them.
 
Ginger John said:
Went to a non-religious infant school but can still remember the "we're going home, we're going home, we're going home to Mam and Dad" song we had to sing before we left every afternoon. Would probably have to be changed to "we're going home to our non-binary caregiver" these days mind.
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At Fulwell it was "At half past three we go home for tea or maybe at quarter to four"
 
Medulla said:
I think that was/is distinction is pretty important TBH. You can't ignore the present any more than you can erase the past.

I mean the latest British Social Attitudes Survey has over half of the population right now as having no religion - which shows that the answer to that question is, at best, nuanced.
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And many of the rest will mean by Christian got baptised that, perhaps got married in a church, never go though, don't particularly live by Christian values and never pay any of it a second thought in day to day life. So while we're maybe still a culturally Christian country - maybe - we're not a functional Christian country in my view. Celebrating Christmas without any reflection on the message of the Gospels or whatever doesn't really make you a Christian, in the same way that eating salad sometimes doesn't make you a vegetarian.
 
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