Religious Freedom - Article by David Godfrey

The UK led the world in developing  and spreading freedom of religion across the globe. Today that heritage is being turned upside down, primarily due to attempts to impose increasingly intolerant secular humanism on Christians and churches. Over the last two decades Parliament has begun to enact laws restricting religious freedom. Pre-existing laws have been misused  by the Police and the Crown Prosecution Service(CPS) has even claimed that to quote the King James Bible in public is a criminal matter.

In 2018, there are moves to introduce a ‘Test Act’ to exclude committed Christians from holding public offices unless they deny aspects of their faith. Attempts were made in the 2017 election to remove as ‘unfit,’ candidates who held beliefs like traditional marriage, family values and the sanctity of life, or held to Biblical beliefs like miracles.

These hard fought for rights of freedom are  under serious attack and the tragedy is that the sacrifices our ancestors paid have been forgotten and the liberties they struggled so hard to gain are gradually being whittled away. The tide of history is turning and Christians are once again under attack and assault, being excluded from public posts and thrown out of Universities or shamed by the media and declared unfit to hold positions of authority. What a departure from the law enacted in 1888 that declared ‘freedom from being required to affirm a particular worldview or set of beliefs in order to attend University, hold a public sector job or stand for election’.

This and much more comprehensive information is contained in the booklet ‘Turn the Tide’  A copy is with the petition at the rear of All Hallows church and is available from the BARNABUS FUND free of charge.  I would also recommend, ‘THE DEATH OF WESTERN CHRISTIANITY’ by Patrick Sookhdeo , though it makes uncomfortable reading, also from the Barnabus Fund £10

The Barnabus Fund are asking Christians to sign a petition to bring in a new law to protect religious freedom.  It states  ‘In the light of  the British tradition of fair play, tolerance, diversity and equality, we the undersigned call upon the British Government to introduce a new law to enshrine fully and permanently our hard fought for religious freedoms : the freedom to worship, to read the scriptures in public, to interpret the scriptures without government interference, to choose or change your faith, to preach and try to convince, to establish places of worship, freedom from being required to affirm particular beliefs, and to study, stand for election or hold particular jobs.’ 

A copy of the petition is at the the rear or All Hallows Church or your can sign online at ourreligiousfreedom.org if you would like to add your support.

David Godfrey