A London borough is to reconsider a ban on posters by a church advertising a weekend of events on climate change, unless they remove words such as ‘God’ and ‘Christian’ from the text in order to avoid ‘offending religious sensibilities’.
Camden Council, in north London, is reconsidering whether to allow its libraries and social centres to display a poster advertising a weekend of climate change events organised by the local Catholic parish church in Kentish Town.
A council spokesman said that religion in the problem. He said:
‘We have asked them to bring the posters in so we can have another look at them. We are very happy to help publicise community events that are open to everyone on our notice boards. However, we are not able to accept posters that promote particular religious beliefs or particular points of view.’
‘The issue has turned into an interfaith battle over what is and is not deemed to be politically correct,’ says Ruth Gledhill, a long-standing religion correspondent for The Times.
‘The St Francis poster,’ which the church wants to be included, ‘was deemed to be in breach of the rules, even though the Muslims who own the corner shop frequented by one of the organisers have happily put the posters up there,’ she added.
Parishioner of the church Jo Siedlecka said:
'First of all the staff on the counter at Kentish Town Library said we could post them up. Then when they read the posters they said they couldn't, because of the religious content.'
However, whilst Camden Council officials insist they cannot support a Christian group, it provides for inquirers details of 13 mosques, Muslim study groups, and Islamic social groups.
The Council is currently advertising for a £32,714-a-year youth worker to engage with 'especially Muslim teenagers' and the borough's website publishes the news that 'Camden council raises awareness of Islam', complete with assurances from a former leader that 'we work hard to spread a true picture of Islam and the Muslim faith,' the Daily Mail reports.
Last summer, library officials in Brighton have also banned a Sunday school leader from putting up a poster advertising a church craft fair because they said it ‘promoted religion’. The ban came despite the library shop offering products which appear to mock Christianity.
(See the CCFON report)
In 2008, council leaders in Oxford decided to ban the word Christmas from festive celebrations to make them more 'inclusive'.
(See the Oxford Mail and The Daily Telegraph reports)
There is a large list of other examples of authorities’ and society’s ‘embarrassment’ with the Christian traditions.
(For some examples see the CCFON report)
At the beginning of this week, a research by The Daily Telegraph showed that thousands of schools are dumping the old-fashioned Easter holiday in favour a US-style ‘spring break’, despite fears over a flight from Christian tradition. Local councils are set to determine the holiday dates for state schools. The research of half the local councils in England found that one third had adopted or were about to adopt the non-Christian tradition.
However, 46 out of 73 authorities insisted they were sticking with the traditional Christian holidays, with some admitting that change would be resisted by religious groups. Some, including Buckinghamshire and Nottinghamshire, said they would only alter the system if there was national agreement.
Phillip Owen, cabinet member for children at Nottinghamshire council, said:
‘We would consider changing to a fixed April holiday if it was co-ordinated nationally. We don’t want to go out on a limb, but it does make sense to have a fixed holiday pattern.’
Earlier this week, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali said that the rejection of Christian values is having a damaging effect on Britain. Speaking at his farewell service at Rochester Cathedral, he said that the country is facing moral crisis and that the rejection of Christian values has created a 'gap' which other faiths and ideologies are attempting to fill.
‘I believe that the Christian faith is necessary for the life of our country. We need to get away from the constant making of moral decisions by opinion poll. We are facing a crisis about affirming the dignity of human purpose.
‘It may be at the earliest stage of life or as we are hearing more and more, at the later stages of life. It is obvious to many people that the weakening of family life is responsible for what we face on our streets, in our classrooms and in homes,’ he said.
(See The Daily Telegraph report)
In the June 2008 issue of Standpoint Magazine, Dr Nazir-Ali called for the Church to regain a prominent position in public life and claimed that the decline of Christianity and the rise of liberal values in the UK during the 1960s had created a moral vacuum with radical Islam filling the gap.
‘We have argued that it is necessary to understand where we have come from, to guide us to where we are going, and to bring us back when we wander too far from the path of national destiny,’ he wrote.
Dr Nazir-Ali was born in Pakistan and became the Church of England’s first non-white bishop in 1994.
Media links