Atheism ‘the new religion’
THE BRITISH establishment acts as if the “state religion is atheism”, according to former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron.
The committed Christian says it is now assumed people of faith are “at best a bit whacky” and “at worst downright unpleasant”.
Mr Farron argues that Christianity is a force for good but says in government and the media the absence of faith is seen as the neutral and agreed position.
His comments follow Conservative MP Crispin Blunt’s call for an end to the tradition that MPS must attend prayers in the Commons to reserve a seat.
Last year Mr Blunt led a push for religious worship not to play any part in the formal business of the House of Commons.
Mr Farron, who as leader of his party faced intense scrutiny of his views on abortion and homosexuality, said: “[Many] Christians I speak to feel absolutely no sense of privilege in their position. Rather than having the biggest platform and a rubber-stamped loud hailer, many Christians today feel marginalised.
“In reality the UK establishment acts as though the state religion is atheism. The default position when it comes to decision making in government circles, in the media and in our wider culture, is to assume the absence of faith is the neutral and agreed position.”
Commons prayers were the parliamentary equivalent of Germans putting beach towels on sun loungers, he said. If the tradition went, MPS might still have to tolerate prayers taking place.
Pressing for tolerance, he said: “[It] feels like we live in times where we are all desperate to be offended and outraged at things that don’t completely conform to our current world view.”
Mr Farron’s comments come as two Labour MPS condemned “anti-catholic bigotry” after the Labour leadership contender Rebecca Long-bailey was attacked over her concerns about abortion.
She talked about her Catholic faith in a preelection questionnaire and said she would never contemplate abortion and did not agree with the position that it is “legal to terminate a pregnancy up to full-term on the grounds of disability while the upper limit is 24 weeks if there is no disability”.
Labour MPS Mike Kane and Conor Mcginn pledged they will “not stand idle while her faith is being used to smear her or tolerate blatant sectarianism and anticatholic tropes” and warned Labour risked alienating Catholics in
the UK.