An alliance of public figures has accused British Prime Minister David Cameron of “fostering division” within the UK by claiming that Britain is still a “Christian country.” Writing a letter published in the Daily Telegraph [1], these intellectuals and politicians claimed that Cameron’s message will have “negative consequences for politics and society.”
They go on: “At a social level, Britain has been shaped for the better by many pre-Christian, non-Christian, and post-Christian forces. We are a plural society with citizens with a range of perspectives, and we are a largely non-religious society.” Yes, and Europe was “shaped” by many “non-Christian forces” in 20th Century, too.
Cameron’s crime? Well, for one, he described [2] Jesus Christ as essentially a forerunner of the welfare state, whereby the Conservative party’s “Big Society” initiative was continuing Jesus’ work [3]. His advocacy of Christianity brought a wrathful response: “it is wrong to try to exceptionalise their [Christians’] contribution when it is equalled by British people of different beliefs.”
Do they really believe this? Has moral relativism brought about such a mental malaise that they can ignore the over-riding religiosity amongst history’s greatest thinkers, leaders, scientists, etc?
Given the tone of some of these lobbyists, their antipathy towards the Christian fabric that runs through British society really is just a little juvenile. To jettison about 1500 years of Christianity as irrelevant smacks of the naiveté and arrogance of youth – like a teen screaming he doesn’t need his parents. While a high rate of practicing is important for the survival of religion in a society, the inculcation in Judeo-Christian values experienced by all but the most radically shielded is what makes the West the unprecedented success it is. One needn’t go to Church every week to enjoy the ethics, laws and customs founded upon Judeo-Christianity teachings. But to ignore, ridicule and destroy this foundation is utterly foolish and destructive.
But, in a world where even highly intelligent people believe that the Bible is only there to teach children fairy tales, perhaps we should forgive them for their ignorance of what it has given the Judeo-Christian world. Like not paying onto the bus, Dawkins and his kind are getting a free ride.