Archbishop attacks PC brigade’s ban on Christian symbols
THE Archbishop of Canterbury yesterday attacked the ‘ nonsense’ of banning Christian symbols in the drive for political correctness. The Right Reverend Rowan Williams said he is worried about ‘ well- meaning secularists’ seeing offence in traditional images of the faith.
Asked what he thought of some councils prohibiting traditional Christian festive symbols, he said: ‘ I don’t worry that our heritage has been sacrificed, but I do worry about the ill-instructed way that opponents of religious traditions are offended in one way or another.
‘They don’t, by and large, come from among Muslims or Hindus, but from well-meaning secularists who are panicked by religious plurality. I don’t think moves that we read about do anything at all for community relations – not a sausage.’
He spoke during a visit to Brussels days after it was revealed that Waveney Council in Suffolk could stop grants for Christmas lights in towns and villages because of fears they might offend nonChristians.
Earlier, Lambeth Council in South London had started referring to Christmas lights as winter lights and Inland Revenue managers had banned staff from helping the Operation Christmas Child charity because of its Christian links.
Other such moves in recent years include Birmingham Council renaming Christmas ‘Winterval’ and Jobcentres and the Red Cross banning trees and decorations.
Dr Williams’s remarks came ten days after he controversially claimed that exporting English hymns and carols to far- flung parts of the world was sinful.
Missionaries who taught their converts to sing favourites such as Jerusalem and Hark!, the Herald Angels Sing were making ‘cultural captives’ of them, he told churchmen at a conference in Cairo.
Instead, they should have left them to produce hymns and prayers in their own languages.
Dr Williams was especially critical of Hymns Ancient and Modern, the Victorian collection that travelled around the world with missionaries in the 19th century.
In Brussels, where he has been on a three- day visit to European Union institutions, the Anglican leader delivered a landmark speech warning society to listen to the Church or risk the ‘ tyranny’ of ‘ wholesale secularism’.
Before returning to London, he said he wants to better understand the EU and its role and moral purpose.
He said no one was suggesting a return to the dominance of the Church in public life, but it was good for the ‘political language’ of Europe to recognise the traditional religious role.
The EU draft constitutional treaty ran into trouble in a row in which references to God were ruled out of its preamble.
That, said the archbishop, had not greatly concerned the Church of England.
But a more general reference remains to EU respect for ‘ churches and religious associations or communities in the member states ‘ and to the need for ‘regular dialogue’ with them.
Dr Williams said any reference to ‘ Christian heritage’ did not have to be exclusive or threatening, and he still hopes any constitution will include ‘ honest recognition’ of the Church’s role.