D: The Relationship Between Religion and Society - Respect and Recognition and the Ways that Religious Traditions View Other Religions and Non-Religious Worldviews and Their Truth Claims. Historical Developments in Religious Thought - Challenges from Secularisation

challenges from secularisation + can uk be called a christian country

- Challenges from secularisation:
-Secularisation: process of a society once dominated by religious institutions becoming non-religious.
- British Humanist Society (BHA) actively promotes the process of secularisation. SECULARISM
BHA key beliefs:
trusts the scientific method when it comes to understanding how the universe works and rejects the idea of the supernatural (and is therefore an atheist or agnostic)
make their ethical decisions based on reason, empathy, and a concern for human beings and other sentient animals
in the absence of an afterlife and any discernible purpose to the universe, human beings can act to give their own lives meaning by seeking happiness in this life and helping others to do the same.

//Can the UK be called a Christian country?
YES
-by tradition, a Christian country.
-established Church of England (The Anglican Church) and the monarch is the head of that Church.
-26 Bishops in the House of Lords.
-many Cathedrals and churches across the country and Christian festivals; especially Christmas, Easter and Remembrance Day services are huge events each year.
-missionaries who went out to spread Christianity to the rest of the world were from the UK.
NAUR
-However, in the latter part of the 20th Century, the UK began to become more and more secular and this has continued into the 21st Century.
-2011 census : 54% of the population affiliated with Christianity; however,The British Social Attitudes survey revealed that less 15% reported going to church on a weekly basis.
-Attendance to Anglican Churches: less than 2% of the population: hatch, match and dispatch
-over half of people said they believed in God it appears that do not necessarily adhere to a particular religion or doctrine.
-In 2000, ORB survey suggested it might be more accurate to describe the UK as a 'spiritual' rather than a 'Christian' country.
-The results showed people described themselves as
:A spiritual person 31%
A religious person 27%
-some people described themselves as both spiritual and religious or not religious and atheist

Decline of Christianity

//The Decline of Christianity
Before beginning of the 20th Century, it would have been very rare not to take part in the Christian rites of passage; Baptism, marriage and funerals.
- Anglican Church, 67% of the population were baptised in 1950 but only 12% in 2011.
-In 1957 72% of all marriages in England and Wales were conducted in churches, in 2000 this had dropped to 36.6%.
-funerals remain common, but many families now have a secular 'celebration of life' of a Humanist service rather than a religious service.
-church and law operate as separate bodies
-rare for UK politicians to openly talk about their faith and when they do, do so in quite vague terms.
-Former Prime Minister David Cameron famously described his Christian faith as being a "bit like the reception for Magic FM in the Chilterns: it sort of comes and goes" and former Prime Minister Tony Blair, while being a committed Christian personally said he didn't 'do God' publically when he was in office.
e- above are example of the decline of religion in public life.
-ridicule of Christianity is a popular topic for comedians and authors like the New Atheist Richard Dawkinshave sold millions of books dismissing Christianity as an outdated and even damaging faith.


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Beliefs that contradict the laws of the country:

/Beliefs that contradict the laws of the country:

-number of cases in recent years where a person's faith has brought them into conflict with the law.
-can be viewed as restrictions on people's religious liberty/freedom.
Some example are:
-2006, Nadia Eweida was suspended from her job at British Airways because she refused to cover up a crucifix whist at work. BA does allow the wearing of the turban and the hijab. In 2007, BA changed the rules and allowed the crucifix but refused to pay Eweida for her suspended period.
Nurse Shirley Chaplin was stopped from wearing a crucifix at work because her employers said it was unsafe and could spread disease. Generally speaking,nurses can wear jewellery as long as it is deemed 'safe' for their particular role.
Gary McFarlane was dismissed from his job as a marriage counsellor for the group Relate for saying he might object to giving sex therapy advice to gay couples.
Lillian Ladele, a local authority registrar, was disciplined after she refused to perform a same sex civil partnership ceremony.
The Catholic Church campaigns against abortion, which has been legal for many years. The group Society for the Protection of the unborn Child (SPUC) plays a key role in this campaign. This is based on the belief that you are a human person from the moment of conception.

-2015, the Church of England produced advertisement to be shown in cinemas at the beginning of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Ad was based around people saying the Lord's Prayer in different settings.
-The company, Digital Cinema Media, banned the ad claiming it could offend people of differing or no faith.
-ban caused an outcry from numerous public figures including Sadiq Khan (a Muslim), Stephen Fry (an atheist), and Prime Minister David Cameron.
-The Equality and Human Rights commission stated that there is nothing in law that prevents Christian organisations from promoting their faith through adverts.

faith schools

//The Value of Christian Faith Schools:
-UK has many faith schools and the vast majority of these are Christian.
-some areas Christians schools account for over 30% of all the schools in that area.
-These schools receive some of their funding from a religious organisation who may also own the land or the building.
-Some of the school's governors will be appointed to represent its religious ethos.
-Often it is the governors, rather than the local authority, who appoint staff and they can give preference to staff who adhere to the school's religion.
-In terms of student admission, some faith schools might prioritise students who are affiliated with the school's faith.
-might ask for a baptism certificate or, less commonly, a letter from the priest confirming that they regularly attend church.
-This has led some families to attend church for the sole reason of getting their child into a particular school.
-many faith schools no longer use this criterion to avoid this issue.
-Faith schools must follow the National Curriculum in all subjects however they can focus on their own religious tradition, though many so also cover other faiths. They are inspected by OFSTED like all other schools.

//Support for Faith schools:
Parents want their children to have more of a grounding in their faith.
Faith schools tend to be among the best performing schools.
They add an element of diversity and choice to the educational landscape.
The values and ethics of the religious tradition these schools represent often foster inclusivity, tolerance, love and justice.

//Objections to faith schools
-The British Humanist Society (BHA) actively campaigns against faith schools claiming that they contradict the principle of a fully inclusive education system.
-They believe they promote segregation and that public money should not be used to promote religion.
-BHA object to the following in relation to the curriculum at faith schools:
RE in faith schools is not specifically inspected by OFSTED.
They claim RE aims to instruct children in the doctrine of a particular religion rather than being objective
.RE in faith schools does not have to cover other faiths (although in reality it often does) nor does it adequately cover non-religious views.
Ethical issues such as abortion may be approached from a specifically religious position.
PSHE may approach relationship education in a way that is homophobic or gender discriminatory.
Some schools have taught creationism as a scientific theory.
-study by Linda Woodhead revealed the reason for parents sending their children to faith schools were:
Academic standards 77%. location 58%
Discipline 44%. ethical values 23%
Prestige 19%. exposure to faith tradition 5%
Passing on a belief in God 3%.

The extent to which the UK can be called a Christian country.
yes

-decline in Christian numbersbecause there is no longer an obligation to be Christian, like there was in the past. Worshippers nowadays do so through choice and out of a sincere commitment. number of genuinely sincere Christians may not have declined as much as we think, as numbers may have always been lower than we thought.
-Some people have become disillusioned with a modern scientific approach to life. Famine and poverty still exists, there is climate change, weapons of mass destruction and an increasing worry about the impact of social media's effect on people's wellbeing. Christianity offers an alternative, less materialistic view of life.
-not always strong boundaries between religious and secular groups. The Occupy Movement (campaigning against the excesses of capitalism) and the campaign for nuclear disarmament have both brought together believers and non-believers in common causes. Christianity is clearly not an irrelevant idea.
-is an established Church of England (The Anglican Church) and the monarchis the head of that Church. There are 26 Bishops in the House of Lords.
-There are many great Cathedrals and churches across the country and Christian festivals; especially Christmas, Easter and Remembrance Day services are huge events each year.
-In 2010 there were over 6500 state funded Christian schools in the UK
-Immigration of Christians from The Caribbean and West Africa has actually led to an increase of Charismatic and Pentecostal Christians in some areas.
-Christian leaders are still seen as having an important and relevant voice in society, especially at times of tragedy eg, Bishop of Manchester David Walker played a significant role in the Arena Bombing memorial service.

The extent to which the UK can be called a Christian country.

-British Social Attitudes survey revealed that less 15% reported going to church on a weekly basis. Attendance to Anglican Churches is now less than 2% of the population.
-decline in Christian rites of passage. In the Anglican Church 67% of the population were baptised in 1950 but only 12% in 2011. In 1957 72% of all marriages in England and Wales were conducted in churches in 2000 this had dropped to 36.6%.
-rare for UK politicians to openly talk about their faith and when they do, they often do so in quite vague terms. Eg, former Prime Minister David Cameron andand former Prime Minister Tony Blair.
-ridicule of Christianity is a popular topic for comedians and authors like the New Atheist Richard Dawkins have sold millions of books dismissing Christianity as an outdated and even damaging faith.
-Faith schools have come under attack e.g., by BHA who actively campaigns against them claiming that they contradict the principle of a fully inclusive education system.
-various examples of people being marginalised or coming into conflict with employers or the law due totheir Christian faith.
-It is science, not religion, that is responsible for human progress in areas such as medicine and technology, and these things have improved our lives massively. Some Christians, egCreationists, could beaccused of being antiscientific.

-The effectiveness of the Christian response to the challenge of secularism. yas

-There are signs of vitality in certain branches of Christianity, including Charismatic worship and Cathedral attendanceImmigration of Christians from The Caribbean and West Africa has actually led to anincrease of Charismatic and Pentecostal Christians in some areas.
-While worship has fallen, Christian activity also takes other forms. There are Christian initiatives seeking to address issues such as poverty, injustice and the environment. Eg, Christian Aid Week 2018 raised £8.6m with more than 12,000 churches and 57,000 volunteers taking part.
-There are not always strong boundaries between religious and secular groups. The Occupy Movement (campaigning against the excesses of capitalism) and the campaign for nuclear disarmament have both brought together believers and non-believers in common causes.
-initiatives that are progressive and modern. E.g. 'Street Pastors' who provide a positive and helpful presence on urban street on Friday and Saturday nights. They operate in over 300 towns and have over 20000 volunteers.
-The Pope's last visit to the UK IN 2010 saw crowds of 125000 in Edinburgh, 65000 in Glasgow, 80000 people in London and 55000 people in Birmingham. A demonstration held by Richard Dawkins drew a crowd of 10000.
-The Church of England's right to show their cinema advert/prayer shown at Star Wars The Force Awakens was defended by the Prime Minister and the London Mayor, demonstrating that Christians can promote their religion in the public sphere.
-Nadia Eweida's case led BA to change the rules and allow the wearing of crosses

The effectiveness of the Christian response to the challenge of secularism. naur

-The British Social Attitudes survey revealed that less 15% reported going to church on a weekly basis. Attendance to Anglican Churches is now less than 2% of the population.There has also been a significant decline in Christian rites of passage. The Christian response has not stopped this decline.
-Increase in charismatic worship is as a result of immigration rather than and effective response to secularism and critics also point out that many visitors to Cathedrals and tourists visiting for cultural rather than religious reasons.
-Gary McFarlane and Lillian Ladele both lost their cases, when trying to adapt their employment to suit their Christian values. This demonstrates Christians being unsuccessful in defending their beliefs in the face of secular liberal values.
-Richard Dawkins' book, 'The God Delusion' sold far more copies than Alistair McGrath's response called 'The Dawkins Delusion'. Dawkins became a house name and celebrity while McGrath remains relatively unknown.
-Evidence suggests that the popularity of faith schools is mainly due to their academic achievements rather than because they promote a Christian message.