Tony Blair: Mention God and you're a 'nutter'*

By Jonathan Wynne-Jones and Patrick Hennessy
Last Updated: 1:58am GMT 25/11/2007

Tony blair has sparked controversy by claiming that people who speak
about their religious faith can be viewed by society as "nutters".

The former prime minister's comments came as he admitted for the first
time that his faith was "hugely important" in influencing his decisions
during his decade in power at Number 10, including going to war with
Iraq in 2003.

Tony Blair: mention God and you're a 'nutter'
Blair was reluctant to discuss his faith during his time in office

Mr Blair complained that he had been unable to follow the example of US
politicians, such as President George W. Bush, in being open about his
faith because people in Britain regarded religion with suspicion.

"It's difficult if you talk about religious faith in our political
system," Mr Blair said. "If you are in the American political system or
others then you can talk about religious faith and people say 'yes,
that's fair enough' and it is something they respond to quite naturally.

"You talk about it in our system and, frankly, people do think you're a
nutter. I mean … you may go off and sit in the corner and … commune with
the man upstairs and then come back and say 'right, I've been told the
answer and that's it'."

Even Alastair Campbell - his former communications director who once
said, "We don't do God" - has conceded that Mr Blair's Christian faith
played a central role in shaping "what he felt was important".

Peter Mandelson, one of Mr Blair's confidants, claimed that the former
premier "takes a Bible with him wherever he goes" and habitually reads
it last thing at night.

His comments, which will be broadcast next Sunday in a BBC1 television
documentary, The Blair Years, have been welcomed by leading Church
figures, who fear that the rise of secularism is pushing religion to the
margins of society.

The Archbishop of York, the Most Rev John Sentamu, said: "Mr Blair's
comments highlight the need for greater recognition to be given to the
role faith has played in shaping our country. Those secularists who
would dismiss faith as nothing more than a private affair are profoundly
mistaken in their understanding of faith."

However, Mr Blair, who is now a Middle East peace envoy, has been
attacked by commentators who say that religion should be separated from
politics and by those who feel that many of his decisions betrayed the
Christian community.

In the interview, Mr Blair, who was highly reluctant ever to discuss his
faith during his time in office, admitted: "If I am honest about it, of
course it was hugely important. You know you can't have a religious
faith and it be an insignificant aspect because it's profound about you
and about you as a human being.

"There is no point in me denying it. I happen to have religious
conviction. I don't actually think there is anything wrong in having
religious conviction - on the contrary, I think it is a strength for
people."

Mr Blair is a regular churchgoer who was confirmed as an Anglican while
at Oxford University, but has since attended Mass with his Roman
Catholic wife, Cherie, and is expected to convert within the next few
months.

He continued: "To do the prime minister's job properly you need to be
able to separate yourself from the magnitude of the consequences of the
decisions you are taking the whole time. Which doesn't mean to say …
that you're insensitive to the magnitude of those consequences or that
you don't feel them deeply.

"If you don't have that strength it's difficult to do the job, which is
why the job is as much about character and temperament as it is about
anything else. But for me having faith was an important part of being
able to do that… Ultimately I think you've got to do what you think is
right."

Mr Blair's opponents say his religious zeal blinded him to the
consequences of his actions, and point to his belief that his decision
to go to war would be judged by God.

The Rt Rev Kieran Conry, Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, said last night
that Mr Blair's comments echoed the feelings of religious leaders.