Christmas is the season when even people of only vestigial religious faith are to be found in church. The carol services, much-loved tunes, beautiful church buildings and the feeling of rebirth and happiness bring comfort to millions. The Church of England continues, less obtrusively, throughout the year to carry that message of hope to those in most need of it, as detailed today in Cole Moreton’s extensive report. For one reason or another, 85 per cent of the population visit a church at least once a year and, although the latest Census reveals a decline in belief, nearly two thirds of people in England and Wales still describe themselves as Christian.
The Church is an institution that is often taken for granted; but if it disappeared it would be sadly missed, not least by those who benefit from the £50 million Anglicans donate yearly to charity, and from the Church’s night shelters, food banks and other good works. Every month, Anglicans contribute 22.3 million hours to voluntary work, and other denominations are similarly generous. Yet it is also true that Christians are under unprecedented assault, even in Britain. The ugly phenomenon of “Christianophobia”, analysed in a report we carry today from the think tank Civitas, shows the lethal persecution faced by Christians around the world. In the UK, a low-level hostility to Christianity exists, in which believers find their faith sidelined by a secular state.
Read it all.
(Sunday Telegraph) It wouldn’t be Britain without the Church
Christmas is the season when even people of only vestigial religious faith are to be found in church. The carol services, much-loved tunes, beautiful church buildings and the feeling of rebirth and happiness bring comfort to millions. The Church of England continues, less obtrusively, throughout the year to carry that message of hope to those in most need of it, as detailed today in Cole Moreton’s extensive report. For one reason or another, 85 per cent of the population visit a church at least once a year and, although the latest Census reveals a decline in belief, nearly two thirds of people in England and Wales still describe themselves as Christian.
The Church is an institution that is often taken for granted; but if it disappeared it would be sadly missed, not least by those who benefit from the £50 million Anglicans donate yearly to charity, and from the Church’s night shelters, food banks and other good works. Every month, Anglicans contribute 22.3 million hours to voluntary work, and other denominations are similarly generous. Yet it is also true that Christians are under unprecedented assault, even in Britain. The ugly phenomenon of “Christianophobia”, analysed in a report we carry today from the think tank Civitas, shows the lethal persecution faced by Christians around the world. In the UK, a low-level hostility to Christianity exists, in which believers find their faith sidelined by a secular state.
Read it all.