Britain and America may now be post-Christian societies but they don\u2019t need to become anti-Christian societies<\/b>. Sadly, I see signs that we might be drifting in that direction. There is the mounting campaign to close all faith schools; the questioning of Tim Farron MP\u2019s legitimacy to lead the Liberal Democrats because of his evangelical background; and the fear of the chief justice of the US Supreme Court that opponents of Christian morality \u201care determined to stamp out every vestige of dissent\u201d\u009d; no charitable status for faith-based groups and no room for believers in the public square.<\/p>\n
Half of me can identify with the anti-religious instinct because, while I\u2019m a Christian seeking space within a secular society, I am also a sceptic about Islam. I\u2019m fearful that, without Christianity\u2019s clear narrative \u201d\u201d ending as the New Testament does with the example of Jesus \u201d\u201d Islam is a religion that\u2019s too easy for the likes of Seifeddine Rezgui to misinterpret. Most Muslims, of course, hate the heinous crime he committed in their name \u201d\u201d but, regardless of what we might think about Islam, thinking the worst is not really a practical option. Nearly three million Britons are Muslims; 1.6 billion of our global neighbours see Allah as the one true God. The challenge must be to understand them and help them to reform their religion \u201d\u201d not to drive them and it underground.<\/p>\n
I want less vacuous talk of fairness, tolerance and generosity from our politicians. Let\u2019s start getting specific about what we mean by \u201cBritish values\u201d\u009d. Freedom of religion should be a cornerstone of western belief and it must stand as a contrast to the many Islamic states where apostasy is punishable by death.<\/p>\n