Keep your faith to yourself unless you are asked, Welby tells ‘proselytising’ Christians
CHRISTIANS should not talk to people about their faith unless they are actively invited to do so, the Archbishop of Canterbury has insisted.
The Most Rev Justin Welby, said believers should not to be afraid to talk about Christianity in a more secular society but advised them to listen to others first and, crucially, to wait until they are asked. Under Archbishop Welby, the Church of England recently launched what was viewed as its biggest evangelism drive in a generation in an effort to reverse decades of decline.
Churches across England were asked to devote the nine-day period leading up to Pentecost last weekend to a special period of prayer. It culminated in events last Sunday in which some of England’s most famous cathedrals, including Canterbury, Winchester, Ely, Durham, and St Paul’s, London were given over to rock concert-style music.
But speaking at a reception for leaders of other faiths in the garden of Lam- beth Palace, the Archbishop insisted Christians should not actively “proselytise” towards non-Christians.
Asked where he drew the line between evangelism and proselytism, he said: “I draw the line in terms of respect for the other; in starting by listening before you speak; in terms of love that is unconditional and not conditional to one iota, to one single element, on how the person responds to your own declaration of faith; and of not speaking about faith unless you are asked about faith.” The gathering, attended by the Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, and dozens of prominent Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, and Hindu representatives, also heard details of inter-faith projects.
The Archbishop insisted that there was a growing acceptance of what he called a “faith-based view of the world” that he said should not be written off as a “medieval hangover”. But he added that racism and attitudes such as anti- Semitism were “embedded” in British culture and must be tackled.
He said: “We’ve seen a very sharp rise over the last year or so in anti-Semitic expression – absolutely intolerable. I am not looking at any political party, it is deeply embedded in so much of our culture in this country… and many of you will have experienced that. But particularly it comes out like a lightning conductor attracts the static electricity.”