A provision that would require all churches to register with the government has apparently been ‘dropped’, according to a Whitehall source revealed in July.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, met with senior ministers to argue against government measures to register and inspect Sunday schools and other church youth activities.
According to The Sunday Times, Justin Welby echoed concerns that have previously been raised by a number of Christian groups, that churches might be targeted by aspects of the government’s plans to tackle ‘extremism in all its forms’.
Earlier this year Christian charities, including Christian Concern and CARE, issued joint statements in response to the proposed measures in England and Wales.
Religious liberty
‘Requiring churches to register before they are legally allowed to help children learn the Christian values our nation was built on is an unjustified restriction of religious liberty’, the joint statement regarding the Welsh proposals stated.
It added: ‘Whether the threshold is six hours in any week or higher, the principle of outlawing “unregistered churches” from teaching children the gospel is an unacceptable overreach of the state.’
Many Christians have expressed concern that Sunday schools and other meetings will be targeted as a result of their Christian teaching, e.g. the exclusivity of the gospel, that marriage is between one man and one woman, and that God created the world.
Several MPs have warned that Christian groups that teach that marriage is between a man and a woman could be targeted.
