Freedom of Religion

Louis Smith is threatened and suspended for mocking Islam, and Theresa May preaches tolerance, balance and responsibility

November 3, 2016
Archbishop Cranmer
103 Comments

This wasn't the first time that four-time Olympic medallist Louis Smith had been rebuked by his professional association British Gymnastics for breaching their Standards of Conduct. So when a video surfaced in which he was judged to be mocking Islam,…

If children need protection from ‘dangerous’ religious rituals, what about circumcision?

October 27, 2016
203 Comments

Jesus only fasted for 40 days and nights, and that must have been tough in the Judaean desert, especially with Satan lurking around. Was that religious extremism? In India, a…

Ashers Bakery ‘gay cake’ appeal judgment: 11% of Evangelical Christians haven’t got a clue about religious liberty

October 24, 2016
660 Comments

It was very tempting to go with the affirmatory '89% of Evangelical Christians support freedom of religion', which would have been the wholesome, encouraging, Christian thing to do, right? But…

Catholics for Trump: “We are in a battle for the soul of America”

October 2, 2016
240 Comments

The Lord has chosen Donald Trump as the next president of the United States. At least Donald Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen believes so. Perhaps if you were Donald Trump's lawyer…

Do we really need a faith minister for “fairies, goblins and imaginary friends”?

September 15, 2016
132 Comments

We live in an age of ever-increasing secularity, in which religious practice must be half-hidden and religious conviction often-denied. You have to excavate quite deep to discover the moral sources…

Vicars warned not to wear dog collars in public for fear of Islamist attack

August 31, 2016
353 Comments

Vicars don't need to say, "Hello, I'm the vicar." Their dog collars make voiceless introduction: they are an emblem of office; an indication of vocation and service. They are…

Spiritual influence: bullying voters with threats of hell is no different from threats of physical violence

August 23, 2016
233 Comments

Following the 2015 Tower Hamlets election court judgment which saw the disqualification of the elected mayor Lutfur Rahman for a number of corrupt and illegal practices, Sir Eric Pickles…

There's nothing British about banning the burqa

August 9, 2016
394 Comments

Not content with a "total ban" on Muslim schools, Ukip leadership candidate Lisa Duffy now wants to ban Muslims from wearing burqas; those Darth Vader-like cloaks which some Muslims…

Fireman Sam slips on the Qur'an, and all Sharia breaks loose

July 27, 2016
156 Comments

Firstly, it wasn't Fireman Sam who apparently slipped on a page of the Qur'an; it was Elvis. But the headline 'Elvis slips on the Qur'an' would probably cause problems…

The Home Office's shameful treatment of Christian asylum seekers

June 8, 2016
170 Comments

A few years ago we had a popular children’s song at my church that started like this: You won’t get to heaven on the back of a camel, And…

EU Court moves toward a ban on Christians wearing crosses in the workplace

June 1, 2016
261 Comments

This isn't the headline in most of the UK media, for some reason, which appears to prefer singling out Muslims and hijabs. There's nothing quite like a bit of…

May we no longer say Jehovah's Witnesses are not real Christians?

April 18, 2016
610 Comments

Dr Shiraz Maher is a lecturer at King's College London and a Senior Fellow of The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR). His list…

Nazir-Ali: 'Faith, Freedom and the Future: Challenges for the 21st Century'

April 13, 2016
1,187 Comments

Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali offers analysis of current challenges and gives urgently needed advice for Christians and policy-makers in a timely new book: Faith, Freedom and the Future: Challenges for…

Cameron's Christian values are devoid of liberty, spirit and truth

March 29, 2016
400 Comments

At least No10 bothered to issue an Easter greeting this year. Last year they omitted to do so, and then refused to reply to a number of the politest…

Dan Walker, creationism, and the witch-hunt against Bible-believing Christians

February 14, 2016
566 Comments

Dan Walker is the Bible-believing son of a Baptist minister. He is a TV and radio sports presenter who has just been appointed to front the BBC Breakfast programme…

Welby defends the right to offend – kind of

February 5, 2016
328 Comments

During a House of Lords debate on the question of 'Islam: Extremism', the Archbishop of Canterbury interjected in defence of the right to offend. He said: My Lords, it…

MPs unite to condemn Ofsted regulation of Sunday schools

January 21, 2016
479 Comments

Anyone with even a modicum of understanding will know that not all religions in all of their forms are equally benign. That’s where the whole 'British Values' drive has…

Global persecution of Christians more extreme than ever

January 13, 2016
317 Comments

This week many in the church and a few in the media have their eyes on Justin Welby and the Primates meeting in Canterbury, waiting to see if the…

Should Christians in the public sector 'keep mum' to get on?

January 4, 2016
424 Comments

"Christianity is being subtly 'silenced' within the public sector in the UK because of a civil service culture which treats speaking about faith as 'not the done thing'," writes…

Stephen Crabb has no need to be ashamed of his Christian faith

December 19, 2015
164 Comments

Who could have imagined just 15 years ago at the turn of the century that we would now be living in such unpredictable times? What seems like a permanent…