Fighting Christian “persecution” in Britain?

Christians being arrested for opposing same-sex relationships, being fired for refusing to conduct same-sex civil partnerships and refusing to place foster children with same-sex couples. And its not just on the “gay issues”; a Christian woman was suspended for refusing to remove her cross by British Airways, Christmas got a name change to  “Winterval” by one city council so as not to offend other religions, prayers have being removed from some schools and council chambers, and even Christmas pay bonuses been stopped by some employers as they might cause offence! This is what the new Not Ashamed campaign is against and it has hit the press in a big way with the BBC giving it significant air-time. It even has the former Arch Bishop of Canterbury, George Carey actively promoting it.

Who is Not Ashamed?

The organisation running Not Ashamed is called Christian Concern, and they are the political arm of the Lawyers Christian Fellowship. They have been stoking up fear and anger of Christian persecution for most of the last decade whilst supporting Christians being “persecution” by courts and tribunals. Their leader Andrea Minichiello Williams works very closely with Conservative Party Member of Parliament Nadine Dorries who together are determined to (in their own words) “reclaim this country for Christ.” The Conservative Christian Fellowship which is the official Christian group in the Conservative Party (and enjoys many government ministers as members) is run by the former head of the Lawyers Christians Fellowship. I don't mean to over-blow this point but no one should underestimate how deep Not Ashamed potentially reaches into government.

Persecution?...err, I don't think so

Clearly changes are taking place in Britain that are negatively effecting some Christians. Whilst, unlike the US, this country has a form of Christianity as its official religion, most people are not Christians by conviction, and a growing amount of the population are from other religions or of no religion at all. With so many beliefs, lifestyles, traditions, and behaviours, it is no wonder that citizens rights are coming into conflict. The privileged position given to conservative religious beliefs in law and culture is no longer considered fair or even moral in many quarters of society. Certainly the treatment of many Conservative Evangelicals, traditionalists, and Roman Catholics is absurd...but persecution it ain't. Persecution is taking place in Iraq where Christians are being hunted down causing them to flee the country in their millions. Persecution is the plight of the Christian woman in Pakistan who is about to be stoned for telling Muslim neighbours about her belief in the Lordship of Jesus. Persecution is not being stopped from wearing a cross on a neck chain when the company policy is "no jewelry".

Rather what we are seeing in Britain is a society disrupted by new democratically legitimate beliefs an agendas, and is struggling to forge a new identity. The old moral certainties are disappearing as people are demanding new rights, not traditionally Christian. Christians certainly need to be part of this discussion, but the framing of the problem by Christian Concern as being a problem of persecution rather than political and legal philosophy makes it entirely the wrong organisation for this task. Christians with more conservative beliefs do not need to roll-back laws that give freedom to others different from themselves in order to feel safe again. Instead Christians ought to be offering a new way through the polarizing "my rights verses your rights” conflict that currently exists.

Its the war itself, not just what they fight for, thats the problem here

Christians who defend their cause using the language of persecution look unreasonable in light of the real persecution that goes on in other parts of the word. A more sensible approach would be to argue for a new national understanding of how we should discuss what personal rights are and refusing the current “mine verses yours” spirit. Why are these churches and organisations not suggesting that although different people have different moral boundaries, we can all be respectful enough not to cross the rights of our neighbour if we understand their needs and they understand ours better? Why are they not behaving as an example of what is possible, rather than trying to roll-back the last 50 years of legal decisions? OK, maybe I have over-simplified this point (and I have avoided examples so as not to get into trouble), but I get fed up with those who criticize yet offer no solution at all.

The current discussion is leading to a lot of pain and anger from both sides who are deploying bigger legal and political weapons against each other to win the war. Maybe it is the war over rights that is the problem, not that there is a discussion itself. We all need rights, sometimes they will collide, but I will be respectful of yours when they do, even at the expense of my own.