A leading Church of England Bishop has warned that Britain has become a ‘cold place’ for Christians because of the increasing number of controversial ‘equality’ laws.
Rt Rev. Michael Scott-Joynt, the Bishop of Winchester which is one of the five senior bishoprics in the Church of England, criticised the new Equality Bill, which is expected to be made law next year. The new law, if passed, will force religious organisations that regard same-sex relationships as sinful to employ homosexual workers.
The Bishop commented in a foreword to a report by the pressure group Christian Action Research and Education (CARE) which was produced in response to growing governmental pressures for Christians to keep their faith ‘private’. He said:
‘The sad fact is that Britain – which owes so much to its Christian heritage – is increasingly becoming a ‘cold’ place which, as any reflection on the fruit of Christian good works will demonstrate, is not in the general interest of society.’
He stated that in a situation where there appears to be a ‘concerted’ attack on the rights of Christians and when there were clashes, homosexual rights prevail.
Nola Leach, the Chief Executive of CARE, said in the Introduction to the report:
‘We hope this first report in the CARE Equalities Series will help politicians and policy shapers understand the unfortunate impact of recent equality laws on Christians and the imperative for change.
‘Britain can benefit from the manifestation of Christian belief just as much today as it did in 1834 when the slaves were liberated, but our laws must be fit for purpose.
‘We also hope that the report will be widely read by Christians and that it will help them gain a greater understanding of the impact of recent equalities legislation, the Equality Bill currently before Parliament and the very considerable way in which public Christianity has benefited the UK in the past.’
The new Equality Bill aims to sweep all of the existing law on equality into one Act of Parliament and to eliminate more forms of discrimination than are currently covered.
(For more information please click on CCFON and CCFON/CLC Response to the Equality Bill)
The Equality Bill has just completed its Committee Stage in the House of Commons. After its remaining Commons Stages it will go to the House of Lords.
Media links