Posted on 12/19/2005 9:29:59 AM PST by sionnsar
Christian leaders have condemned politically correct approaches to Christmas for stifling religious expression.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said "silly bureaucrats" wanted to wipe Christian symbols from Christmas.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, he said it was prompted by a fear that symbols would upset people of other religions.
Former Archbishop Dr George Carey added he had concerns a minority in leadership want to privatise religion.
A week before Christmas Day, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said: "What makes some people suspicious of Christmas these days is that it's too religious.
'Undermining public expression'
"This year there seems to have been even more stories about the banning of Christian images and words by silly bureaucrats."
He compared the politically correct approach to Christmas to the 17th century Puritans who felt celebrations were not Christian enough.
"It's all because of the idea that our neighbours from other religious traditions will be offended by Christian symbols", he said.
"The truth is they're usually much happier with the idea of a Christian festival than with some general excuse to have a good time in midwinter."
Former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr George Carey warned against "political correctness that is creeping in and undermining the public expression of the Christian faith".
He told GMTV's Sunday Programme there is a "minority in leadership today who want to privatise religion" because of "nervousness excited by the visibility of Muslims".
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. He finally comments on something I agree with.
Stand up for Christmas, archbishops tell their flock
By Neil Tweedie and Jonathan Petre
(Filed: 19/12/2005)
Political correctness or fear of offending other religions should not be allowed to cloud the fact that Christianity lies at the heart of British culture, the Archbishop of Canterbury and his predecessor said yesterday.
In what appeared to be a co-ordinated pre-Christmas offensive, Dr Rowan Williams and Lord Carey mounted a stout defence of Christianity’s place in society.
*
They attacked the “silly bureaucrats” who insisted on banning Christian words and symbols in a misguided attempt to placate Muslims and others.
Their comments coincide with a poll showing that 43 per cent of adults intend to attend church at some time over the festive season, almost a third more than those giving the same answer in 2001.
Dr Williams gave warning that Christmas was in danger of being turned into a secular winter festival through a mixture of political correctness and profit-driven consumerism.
He wrote in the Mail on Sunday: “This year there seems to have been even more stories about the banning of Christian images and words by silly bureaucrats.
“It’s not the Christmas pudding that the authorities will be coming for but the Christmas crib, if some people have their way.
“And it’s all because of a quite wrong-headed idea that our neighbours from other religious traditions will be offended by Christian symbols.
“The truth is they’re usually much happier with the idea of a Christian festival than with some general excuse to have a good time in midwinter.”
Lord Carey, Dr Williams’s predecessor, who retired in 2002, said that Christianity was integral to British society.
“If you take the Christian faith out of British identity, what have you got left?
“That’s not to say you can’t be British and a Jew, or British and a Muslim. Of course I’m not saying that. But we are talking about a British identity. The majority of people in this land identify themselves by a common language, by common culture and by the implicitness of the Christian faith itself. It’s a very important part of our identity.”
Speaking on GMTV’s Sunday Programme, he gave warning of creeping political correctness.
“There is a view around that practising Christianity and all the symbols that go with it embarrasses people of other faiths; and of course that’s nonsense.”
Lord Carey raised the case of Sam Morris, the Derbyshire girl sent home for wearing a crucifix because it contravened her school’s no-jewellery rule.
“It’s not jewellery at all. It’s an expression of our faith and I’m glad that many people have risen up against that and said it’s nonsense.
“It may come from a certain nervousness - maybe it’s excited by the visibility of Muslims in our country, with some girls wearing burkhas.”
The school’s decision, he said, appeared to represent a worrying hostility towards Christianity and all religions by a minority of people in leadership who wanted to marginalise religion and create a more secular state like France.<
“That would not be the Britain I know,” he said. “We can’t keep faith out of politics or out of public life. It’s part of our own identity.”<
The Prime Minister, for example, had every right to say that his Christian faith pervaded and influenced all that he did.
“I cannot understand how you can be British without having the core faith at the heart of it which is Christianity.
“To the legislators I say: Let’s apply common sense principles to all our laws and legislation but let’s be aware of the rich vein of the Christian faith which runs through our history and laws, culture, literature and so on.”
I had the same thought...
Oh, they do. The only problem is they're practicing according to their redefinition of the word. Doublespeak in action.
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