Archive for category Religion
Our man in Turkey
Posted by Jon Davies in European Union, Foreign Affairs, Religion on 27/06/2011
Turkey’s bloodless civil war is between pious Muslims who want the public space to be dominated by their interpretation of religion, and less dogmatic Muslims who believe in the strict separation of state and mosque (Burak Bekdil, Hurriyet June 7 2011)
Europe can be seen as bracketed by Turkey to the south-east and Great Britain to the north-west. These two large ex-imperial countries – with very different (though inter-locked) histories, constitutional traditions and recently-elected governments – would seem to have some things in common. As the Ottoman Empire became the nation-state of Turkey, and the British Empire also became a nation-state, both countries had perforce to re-structure their relationships with the other nation-states of the world, and in particular with their immediate geographical neighbour, ‘Europe’.
Habemus Papam!
Posted by David Merlin-Jones in Politics, Religion on 16/09/2010
Pope Benedict XVI is beginning his tour of Britain today and shall be seen by millions of Britons – on their TVs. This is because access to the Pope is limited to Catholics with congregational links and a decent sized wallet. Tickets to the event cost up to £25, which prices many Catholics out of the market to see their religious leader and smacks of simony. This seems unfair, not just for poorer Catholics but non-Catholics as well, who are almost entirely unable to see him. Read the rest of this entry »
Faith in Free Schools
Posted by Nick Cowen in Education, Religion on 29/07/2010
The coalition Government’s ‘free schools’ proposal hasn’t so much split religious believers from atheists, but more those who accept parent choice as a progressive reform, and those who reject it. Despite the fears from all sides, there is a good chance that all of Britain’s diverse belief systems will benefit if schools gain more independence.
Have Christians Now No Other Lawful Option But to Turn the Other Cheek?
Posted by David Conway in Civil Liberty, Religion on 13/04/2010
Something must have gone very seriously wrong with our judicial system, if it lacks resources to be able to accommodate the equally legitimate, but opposing, claims of homosexuals and religious believers who consider homosexual acts so sinful as to be unable in good conscience to carry out professional tasks requiring them to condone such acts.
Equal in Dignity… or Indignity?
Posted by David Conway in European Union, Family, Marriage and the Culture, Religion on 03/02/2010
In November 2000, the European Union issued a directive intended to provide ‘a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation’.
While designed to prohibit employers from discriminating on grounds of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, its fourth article expressly stated that ‘the Directive shall not prejudice the right of churches… to require individuals working for them to act in good faith and with loyalty to the organisation’s ethos.’
Our Crumbling Cathedrals: An Apt Symbol of Our Disintegrating Nation
Posted by David Conway in Religion on 26/01/2010
Few artefacts better epitomise England than its cathedrals. It is precisely because they do that their current parlous condition so aptly symbolises the state of national disintegration over which the present government has so artfully presided during this past twelve years.