Christians should unite with atheists to defend secularism

[LeftishBrit]

19. Great article

'If atheists are bemused by the latest attacks on secularism, spare a thought for Britain's Christians. Most agree with equality for homosexuals, support the separation of church and state, and share the basic principles of humanism. Many of the comments supposedly made on their behalf must be as alien to them as they are to the rest of us.

The 'war on secularism' is a battle over privilege. On one side, secularists – whether Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, atheist or other – believe in freedom of (and from) religion; that faith is a personal choice and the state should be neutral in such matters. Opposing them, an elitist minority of Christians believe that one group – themselves – should enjoy privileges that others do not share.'


Agreed.

In the UK, it's not even as simple as 'the religious vs the atheists' on secularism. Until recently, religious intrusion into politics in the UK was not for the most part based much on the content of religion, but was mainly a matter of the struggle for power between Protestants and Catholics, which was linked to much of our history since the 16th century, and was particularly ugly with regard to Ireland. This had partially died down, but in the last few years - possibly mainly since the Internet made international commuications easier - I think there has been more communication between the British and American Right. (E.g. recently a Torygraph journalist called David Cameron a 'RINO' - WTF!) This, IMO, has contributed to an increased tendency for some people to attack secularism and support the preservation of British 'Christian traditions' , because they see such traditions as supporting right-wing politics. Indeed, just as you don't have to be Jewish to be a Jewish mother, in Britain you don't actually have to be a Christian to be a Christian-Rightie! Some are atheists/agnostics (e.g. Norman Tebbit) or members of religious minorities (e.g. Melanie Phillips is Jewish and Sayeeda Warsi is Muslim). To them, preserving Christian privilege is basically one part of preserving general social and economic privilege against uppitty types who want greater equality.

But some of the local anti-secularists really are religious fundies. For example, if you want to feel sick, look up 'Christian Concern for Our Nation', founded by Andrea Minichiello Williams, who thinks that the world is 4000 years old; and which now has links with the Alliance Defence Fund. I think that some of the resurgence of the British anti-secularist minority stems from recent battles within the Anglican Church, where some right-wing clergy here and abroad have rebelled against the liberal church leadership. They are particularly preoccupied with being anti-gay, though the ordination of women also features in their complaints, and I think some of them are trying to have a more general baleful political influence.