Clergy/Leaders’ Mail-list No. 2-038 (Apologetics and Social Issues)

CHRISTIAN VOICE IN DANGER OF BEING STIFLED BY POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

Faith becomes victim of spin doctoring warns Evangelical Alliance

Christians are in danger of losing their ability to challenge and provoke society as religious identity increasingly falls foul of political correctness, says the UK Evangelical Alliance. It warns that faith is fast becoming a victim of spin doctoring.

Diversity of faith is conveniently brushed under the carpet in an age where difference is regarded as a hindrance to a truly tolerant society, adds the Alliance.

But the Alliance calls this wisdom half-baked. It expresses concern that faith groups are now viewed as “homogenous units” and, as a consequence, the distinctive voice of Christianity is being stifled.

[In responding to a government paper on overhauling the UK immigration and asylum system] Shona Haslam, the Alliance’s parliamentary officer, stresses that a tolerant society is one that does not try to iron out the differences within it but learns to respect them.

She says the faith community has been caught up in the rush to embrace a tolerance which is itself becoming increasingly intolerant of difference.

“We have become so politically correct that we have papered over the cracks of difference,” warns Shona. “Faith groups come together round the table and agree bland statements that will not offend anyone. Consequently, the Government views faith groups as one homogenous unit.

“Rather than papering over those cracks, we have to recognise their existence, embrace them as a ‘good thing’ and build bridges so that we can live together in a genuinely tolerant society in which real differences can be expressed without society falling apart,” she adds.

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Enquiries: Lorna Madden, Evangelical Alliance <> E-mail <> Website – http://www.eauk.org