This article says it all. You have to read the whole article - but here are some extracts which sum it up:
Extract One: it was a dangerous and worrying defeat of common sense.
Extract Two: .... a worrying increase in ''attacks'' on Christianity, which has seen one Christian school receptionist facing dismissal after her five-year-old daughter was told off in school for talking about God in class – which upset another girl – and a nurse being suspended for offering to pray for a patient. The cases have highlighted what many believe is the high cost our Christian heritage is paying simply to survive. The growing persecution of Christians in public life has so angered senior clerics that they have found it imperative to speak out about the growing marginalisation of Christianity in Britain. Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York and Britain's second most senior cleric, has described the targeting of Christains as ''an affront to decency''. Calling on the silent majority of Christians to defend their beliefs, Sentamu said: ''For those who despair at the treatment meted out to these Christian women the message is clear: wake-up Christian England.''
One surely has to admit that when Church of England clerics get worked up about the marginalisation of Christianity, Christianity must be seriously marginalised .... and when the Sunday Telegraph talks about "persecution" of Christians in Britain - a phrase which I think in Britain is misplaced and an overreaction, in comparison with the real persecution of millions of Christians in other parts of the world, but nevertheless raises an extremely serious issue, we have much to think about. And when religious freedom is violated around the world, as described for example in this House of Lords debate, it puts the situation in the UK in perspective ... nevertheless, I believe we have values of religious freedom and tolerance to defend here at home which the uber-politically correct brigade seek to destroy. It really is as simple as that.
I abhor some of the intolerance that is spoken in the name of Christianity. And I detest the intolerance of Christians that is spoken supposedly in the name of politically correct "tolerance". I believe, within the rule of law, in freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Full stop. As far as political correctness is concerned, David Cameron's remarks in Total Politics say it all:
We all rage against political correctness and there's lots of political correctness which is ridiculous- silly health and safety worries that stop children grazing a knee on an outward bounds adventure. We have got to get rid of that. But there's one bit of political correctness which is terribly important and that's about politeness.
I agree. But we have lost politieness - and our society has gone doo-lally.
