Christians must be allowed to display their faith in the public square, the Church of England has declared. 

The General Synod, the Church’s governing body, overwhelmingly backed a motion which affirmed that the “calling” of Christians was to manifest their “faith in public life as well as in private”.

The motion was introduced by Revd Stephen Trott who warned that some were making “very determined attempts” to “drive the Church out of the public square,” the Christian Institute website reports.

During the debate Revd Trott pointed to examples of Christians being marginalised for their faith.

He expressed concern about the possible creation of a “monolithic state, which imposes a conformist ideology on all aspects of public life”.

Revd Trott’s motion was passed by 263 to 25 votes.  

The motion said: “That this Synod express its conviction that it is the calling of Christians to order and govern our lives in accordance with the teaching of Holy Scripture, and to manifest our faith in public life as well as in private, giving expression to our beliefs in the written and spoken word, and in practical acts of service to the local community and to the nation.”

Earlier this year Lord Carey warned that Christians in Britain are being treated as “bigots” and sacked for expressing their beliefs.

The former Archbishop of Canterbury also warned of a “drive to remove Judaeo-Christian values from the public square”.

He accused Britain’s courts of consistently applying “equality law to discriminate against Christians”.