British PM, Theresa May, stood up in the House of Commons this week and told MPs, “our Christian heritage is something we can all be proud of”. It is very hard to imagine any senior Irish politician saying that, never mind Taoiseach, Enda Kenny.
May was responding to a question from MP Fiona Bruce about a new publication called ‘Speak Up [1]’, produced by the Evangelical Alliance and the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship “which aims to equip and inspire Christians with confidence and knowledge of the current legal freedoms we have to share our faith.”
In the UK, there are growing curtailments, both formal and informal, on the right of Christians to share their faith in public. This can extend to the workplace.
‘Speak Up’ argues in favour of this right.
May said in response to Bruce: “My honourable friend raises an important issue which matters to both her and me, and I think that the phrase that was used by the Lawyer’s Christian Fellowship was ‘the jealously guarded principle’ of that ability to speak freely… about one’s religion.
“I’m happy to welcome the publication of this report and its findings.
“Of course, we’re now into the season of Advent and we have a very strong tradition in this country of religious tolerance and freedom of speech and our Christian heritage is something we can all be proud of.
“I’m sure we would all want to ensure that people at work do feel able to speak about their faith and also feel able to speak quite freely about Christmas.”
After all, if people can talk about politics at work, why not religion, so long as civility is observed.
May’s remarks bring to mind the case of an Evangelical Christian sacked by South Tipperary County Council for sharing his faith on his lunch breaks and when out and about in a way that did not interfere with his work or cause complaints from the public. The Equality Tribunal in 2014 awarded him 70,000 euro but did not restore him to his previous position.
The question arises; why it is almost certain that no senior Irish politician would praise Ireland’s Christian heritage like Theresa May, or commend a book like ‘Speak Up’?
I think it is because Ireland remains in the adolescent phase of its rebellion against the Church. We are still not long enough out of its ‘shadow’ and therefore remain unable to be objective about it.
When that days finally dawns, we may have a Taoiseach who is capable of publicly saying something good about Ireland’s Christian roots.