A top Tory politician gave a speech at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester on Monday saying that it is wrong for the state to treat faith with suspicion.
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, a member of the Shadow Cabinet as the Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion and Social Action, said at her conference speech that ‘the madness of political correctness’ of the current Government ‘fails to teach our children British history in case it offends’ and that ‘under Labour, the State has become increasingly sceptical of an individual’s religious belief.’
‘We’ve all seen the stories, how appalling that in Labour’s Britain a community nurse can be suspended for offering to pray for a patient’s recovery.
‘Or a school receptionist could face disciplinary action for sending an email to friends asking them to pray for her daughter,’ Baroness Warsi said.
‘At the heart of these cases lies a growing intolerance and illiberal attitude towards those who believe in God. The scepticism of senior Liberal Democrat MP Evan Harris driving this secular agenda has now grown to become an ideology permeating through many parts of the public sector,’ she added.
She said that the current agenda on ‘equality’ is driven by the political-elite, who have hijacked the pursuit of ‘equality’ by demanding ‘a dumbing down of faith’.
‘It’s no wonder that this leads to accusations in the media that our country’s Christian culture is being downgraded.
‘Strong societies are built on cherishing their heritage. So when some misguided liberal tries to downgrade Christmas… Or a school tries to ban the nativity play, or a child is not taught about the empire in case it offends.
‘This scepticism against faith communities and in some cases outright hostility, is both wrong and dangerous,’ she concluded.
(Click here to read the full speech and here to watch the video)
On 02 July 2007, Sayeeda Warsi was appointed Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion and a working peer. Her peerage was conferred as Baroness Warsi, of Dewsbury in the County of West Yorkshire on 11 October 2007 and gazetted on 26 October 2007.
In the past, she worked overseas for the Ministry of Law in Pakistan and in Kashmir as Chairman of the Savayra Foundation, a women’s empowerment charity.
Andrea Minichiello Williams, Director of CCFON and The Christian Legal Centre, commented:
‘We applaud Baroness Warsi’s comments condemning rising secularism within our culture that is marginalising our Christian heritage and those with strong Christian beliefs within the workplace. The challenge for a Conservative Government is to be willing to reverse the so called anti-discrimination legislation that has led to this marginalisation of Christianity.
‘We would like to see proper safeguards for Christians to express their faith in the work place and elsewhere. We would like to see a Government that stands up for the great Christian heritage of this nation which has led to centuries of stability and all that is great about Britain.
‘Christianity provides the moral framework to rebuild broken Britain and the values to make us truly tolerant of those who do not share our beliefs. A Conservative Government will need to remember this if it is to reverse the damage done by the results of Labour pursuing a secular agenda since 1997.’
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