Britain's Christians are being vilified, warns Lord Carey
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-Pastor-Dale-Morgan-
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Apr 13, 2012, 9:42:17 PM4/13/12
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Faith
Under Fire...
Britain's Christians are being vilified, warns Lord Carey
Christians are being “persecuted” by courts and “driven
underground” in the same way that homosexuals once were, a former
Archbishop of Canterbury has warned.
Lord Carey argues that in 'case after case' British courts have
failed to protect Christian values. He urges European judges to
correct the balance.
By John Bingham, Religious Affairs Editor
10:00PM BST 13 Apr 2012
The Telegraph UK
Lord Carey says worshippers are being “vilified” by the state,
treated as “bigots” and sacked simply for expressing their
beliefs.
The attack is part of a direct appeal to the European Court of
Human Rights before a landmark case on religious freedom.
In a written submission seen by The Daily Telegraph, the former
leader of more than 70 million Anglicans warns that the outward
expression of traditional conservative Christian values has
effectively been “banned” in Britain under a new “secular
conformity of belief and conduct”.
His comments represent one of the strongest attacks on the
impartiality of Britain’s judiciary from a religious leader.
He says Christians will face a “religious bar” to employment if
rulings against wearing crosses and expressing their beliefs are
not reversed.
Lord Carey argues that in “case after case” British courts have
failed to protect Christian values. He urges European judges to
correct the balance.
The hearing, due to start in Strasbourg on Sept 4, will deal with
the case of two workers forced out of their jobs over the wearing
of crosses as a visible manifestation of their faith. It will also
take in the cases of Gary McFarlane, a counsellor sacked for
saying that he may not be comfortable in giving sex therapy to
homosexual couples, and a Christian registrar, who wishes not to
conduct civil partnership ceremonies.
Lord Carey, who was archbishop from 1991 to 2002, warns of a
“drive to remove Judaeo-Christian values from the public square”.
Courts in Britain have “consistently applied equality law to
discriminate against Christians”.
They show a “crude” misunderstanding of the faith by treating some
believers as “bigots”. He writes: “In a country where Christians
can be sacked for manifesting their faith, are vilified by State
bodies, are in fear of reprisal or even arrest for expressing
their views on sexual ethics, something is very wrong.
“It affects the moral and ethical compass of the United Kingdom.
Christians are excluded from many sectors of employment simply
because of their beliefs; beliefs which are not contrary to the
public good.”
He outlines a string of cases in which he argues that British
judges have used a strict reading of equality law to strip the
legally established right to freedom of religion of “any
substantive effect”.
“It is now Christians who are persecuted; often sought out and
framed by homosexual activists,” he says. “Christians are driven
underground. There appears to be a clear animus to the Christian
faith and to Judaeo-Christian values. Clearly the courts of the
United Kingdom require guidance.”
He says the human rights campaign has gone too far and become a
political agenda.
Keith Porteous-Wood, executive director of the National Secular
Society, said: “The idea that there is any kind of suppression of
religion in Britain is ridiculous.
“Even in the European Convention on Human Rights, the right to
religious freedom is not absolute – it is not a licence to trample
on the rights of others. That seems to be what Lord Carey wants to
do.”