Really? Should politicians mix religion and work? Seems 50 odd academics, scientists and others think not and I’m inclined to believe them. Can’t say his comments particularily bother me, I have a pretty large social circle and can’t think of any of my friends who are religious. In fact the last time I saw any (daily) religious activity was twenty years ago when it was forced on me at school. Hmmm,…

Are we a Christian nation?

link

I dont wear a religious beard, hat, etc. Christianity is more subtle. He lives in you heart OP.

The UK is by virtue of the fact that it’s a by default religion, as you said at school it’s part of the day. There was a very long thread about it a week or so ago when he kicked off with his easter message.

It results in people ticking the box christian on the census which makes the stats work, people go with the flow of having a religion based on what they were brought up with. Very few make it to ticking atheist, if the question was about being a practicing x,y or z or none of the above the numbers would be significantly lower.

B&Q was shut yesterday. That’s all the proof I need.

I get that not all Christians wear a badge and I suppose statistics support his comments to some to some extent, but religion is such a contentious subject labelling our country ‘Christian’ is going to erk someone. I’m not sure that in this day and age politicians should be making such sweeping generalisations. I’m one of the 25% who happily ticks the ‘no religion’ box but I’m also British… As I said I’m not that bothered but I feel a little uncomfortable when politics and religion are mixed together.

Most people start off as religious due to indoctrination as a child by parents, school, church, etc. By the time they’re teenagers or young adults they’re most likely agnostic and leave it at that. It’s only a minority that make the next step to becoming atheist. So we’re probably an Agnostic country – certainly not a Christian country.

Is it cool to rebel though? As a society/youth.

Christian as a practising religion? No. Christian as in the principles of the faith? Certainly not, and even more so in Cameron’s case!

Not by a Christian poet but a beautiful poem non the less:
I tried to find Him on the Christian cross, but He
was not there; I went to the Temple of the
Hindus and to the old pagodas, but I could not
find a trace of Him anywhere.

I searched on the mountains and in the valleys
but neither in the heights nor in the depths was I
able to find Him. I went to the Ka’bah in Mecca,
but He was not there either.

I questioned the scholars and philosophers but
He was beyond their understanding.

I then looked into my heart and it was there
where He dwelled that I saw Him; He was
nowhere else to be found.

maybe it’s not rebeling hora but finding some free will and realising that it’s not for you.

People get to make a decision consciously or unconsciously but few get past the agnostic but don’t know it stage.

Not sure how that poem is beautiful. It seems to be saying that all other religions are wrong and science is wrong. Our way is the only way. Doesn’t look good for God’s claimed omnipresence either. Each to their own, though.

I dunno, I’ve never thought of myself as a Christian. I don’t believe in god but I admire those who have a faith.

I still seem happy enough to celebrate Christmas, though!

It doesn’t even rhyme!

Oh yeah Britain’s really Christian. It’s one of the most materialistic, capitalist cultures in the world.

JCL just following the lead of the lot in the Vatican, the original multi national 🙂

That Poem reminds me of the film ’Stigmata’, epic film and presents religion in a way that I found interesting. The idea that belief is from within and that’s where you’ll find god, not in churches etc…

Must dig that out again. I might not believe but that’s one hell of a movie. Thanks Hora 😀

Off for a ride, catch up with this later.

I still seem happy enough to celebrate Christmas, though!

Christmas isn’t really a Christian festival – it’s the pagan midwinter festival that the Christians just hijacked and renamed. All the fun parts of Christmas – Feasting, presents, decorations, singing predate the boring Christian stuff. Same with Easter – it’s the pagan Spring festival celebrating new life – hence Easter bunnies, eggs, chicks, etc.

So you’re really celebrating pagan festivals not Christian ones.

Hmmmm. Alice says Cameron is wrong. Alice in the post

The original statement is probably based on census data. It seems to me that when people in the UK aren’t religious they tend to say they’re CofE.

So Cameron is probably saying Britain doesn’t care about religion in the main…..

And the comments above about Pagan crossover aren’t entirely true. The Christians didn’t steal the festivals, they just chose to celebrate the life and death of a key figure using the same dates to avoid confusion.

You’re born. You live a good life. You die. Done.

Not by a Christian poet but a beautiful poem non the less:

There once was a bloke called Jesus
Actually, there wasn’t.

B&Q was shut yesterday. That’s all the proof I need.

Tell me about it. Thankfully, in repentance, they opened at 7am this morning.

JCL just following the lead of the lot in the Vatican, the original multi national

Yeah good point.

There once was a bloke called Jesus
Actually, there wasn’t.

There probably was. He probably said some of the things attributed to him. He was probably even crucified.

But he wasn’t the son of God, didn’t perform any miracles, wasn’t resurrected, and didn’t ascend into heaven.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krb2OdQksMc[/video]

… but I admire those who have a faith.

Out of interest, why?

B&Q was shut yesterday. That’s all the proof I need

Not in Scotland it wasn’t 😉

he said he felt the “healing power” of faith in his own life.

I admire his commitment to a secular Britain – it certainly can’t have been easy to separate his divisive capitalcentric politics from the healing power of faith in his private life.

He is correct.

What ever Cameroon says has almost no relevance to most people, all he’s attempting to do is win back some of the current UKIP supporters in time for the local and MEP elections in May. If that works expect a lot more reference to religiosity in the lead up to the general election next year, oh, and some insane tax cuts.

He is correct.

He is correct in the narrow constitutional sense that we continue to have an established Church.

In terms of the beliefs of the majority of the population, he is incorrect.

There’s nothing Christian in Christianity. Look at the years of rule by fear and manipulation of the weak and poor. The same goes for today, it is just more subtle than in the Middle Ages or during the Inquisition. All religion breeds is intolerance and hatred of others that have different way of interpreting the same books. For that reason i’m out. Too many people have died because some coward in a cape has decreed that their views are not worthy.
So perhaps we as a Country, are ‘Christian’? Although I like to think that we have one of the most tolerant societies around. Although idiots in UKIP, BNP, EDL and the Conservatives would willingly plunge us back in to the white, British supremacist days at the click of ones fingers.
On that note, I’m heading out on t’old mountain cycle.

There’s nothing Christian in Christianity

FTFY plus a lot of non-white Christians including Archbishops in this country and elsewhere.

Enjoy the ride.

It seems to me that when people in the UK aren’t religious they tend to say they’re CofE.

Perhaps they used to, not sure if thats still true. It used to be the polite answer

Theres a difference between religion and faith and you can be part of one and not have the other. Its far too nebulous a question to be able to have everyone answer the question by ticking yes or no. And over different decades when the census is taken the questions and answers have different meanings. There are times and places where you could ask the question where people would describe themselves as Christian regardless of whether they actively practice any kind of religious observance. Currently though atheism is quite fashionable, or rather expressing atheism is, so people are more likely define themselves as positively atheist rather than passively part of a christian tradition.

But where religion has a different context the answer to the question might be different. In the west of scotland you might define yourself as catholic or protestant on the basis of which football team you support, even if you haven’t stepped inside a church for all your adult life, and obviously in NI your political position is mixed up with religious identity, and in that instance you may well feel that both your religion and your politics are something you’ve been born into rather than chosen or objectively assessed.

The US is quite interesting in this respect, statistically a very christian country, but genetically and socially not very different to us. In the US church-going is very much the social norm, and its the norm whether you have any firmly held belief or not. During his election campaign Obama was hit with one of those ‘When did you stop beating your wife’ questions and it was to do with the pastor of the church he attended and some quite radical views they held. The reality was Obama would have had no idea what views the pastor held as he wasn’t actually going to church. He’d done what a lot of people do – say (when asked) that he attends a church that has a huge congregation – so big that way nobody notices that your not actually there. And you say/do that out politeness, its more polite to lie about your religious commitments than to say you don’t have any.

In terms of the beliefs of the majority of the population, he is incorrect.

‘Beliefs’ in what sense? Our moral, legal, family and social codes are all quite christian even if very few of us acquired those codes through studying the bible. Our national identity is tied to those codes, and those codes are part of a christian tradition.

‘Beliefs’ in what sense? Our moral, legal, family and social codes are all quite christian even if very few of us acquired those codes through studying the bible.

As I understand it, to be a Christian you need to believe that Jesus Christ is the resurrected son of an all powerful personal God, who died for our sins such that we can have eternal life. In that sense.

The basis of our society, morals, etc. are both, pre-Christian, Christian, and post-Christian. Most ‘Christian’ beliefs and morals pre-date Christianity.

I’m not into human sacrifice cults myself but Britian’s religious infrastructure makes it a christian nation no doubt. The numbers seem to say Britain is a secular state though.

If our moral and legal codes are christian, why do so many Christians, including the church of england itself,discriminate against women and homosexuals?

Most ‘Christian’ beliefs and morals pre-date Christianity.

Indeed – but they’re quite neatly collectively summarised as ‘Christian’

Its true there are elements of Christian tradition that predate our adoption of Christianity, but modern druidic and pagan practises are far removed from any properly traditional national identity. They’re a mixture of victorian and 1980s new age fantasies and not part of any continuation of a pre-christian way of life.

If our moral and legal codes are christian, why do so many Christians, including the church of england itself,discriminate against women and homosexuals?

Do you know how many christians discriminate on that basis? There may be an official position but it doesn’t mean every single letter and word announced from the pulpit defines the thoughts and feelings of the congregation. They can actually think for themselves.

Do you know how many non christians discriminate against women and homosexuals?

Do you know whether these levels of discrimination are more or less common or overt amongst either group?

We cannot not be a christian country under the present constitution which ties us to the church of england and the monarchy.
This is of course getting very out of touch with the electorate who over the last 150 years are assuredly less inclined to go to church, pray and have a personal relationship with JC.

I also understand that the leader of a country with the C of E so wrapped up in its constitution should be expected to make some press in the middle of Holy Week (after all its more important than christmas for proper christians, non?)

Sadly much of this this reeks of opportunism on Cameron’s part. I would like to have heard Justin Welby comment more on this story (well perhaps he did but it wasn’t soundbite-worthy enough. I would imagine that Welby’s predecessor would have had something contentious to say along the lines of politicians cherry-picking the bits of christianity Jesus’ teachings that fit their agendas (humility, be thankful for what the lord hath given thee) and leaving out the bits that don’t (unconditional love of thy neighbour or anyone else’s neighbour, redistribution of riches, turn the other cheek etc).

[edit] re-read that and i sound like a right god-botherer! FWIW I am a well-read ‘backslider’ 😉 . Fond of the values, not so fond of the church.