Barnabas Fund has recently initiated a petition calling for a new law to protect religious freedom in our country.
This is supported by a booklet Turn the Tide, Reclaiming Religious Freedom in the UK. The booklet is a clarion call to the church, containing much information which Christians should read to acquaint themselves with the dire situation.
It is somewhat weighted to the challenges posed by Islam, the sphere where Barnabas Fund works in particular. But it sets out clearly seven foundational freedoms of religion which are currently law in the UK. These are all vital freedoms, many of which were purchased by martyrdom. Indeed many non-Christians would want to uphold them. These seven freedoms are:
• Freedom of worship
• Freedom to read Scripture in public
• Freedom to interpret Scriptures without government interference
• Freedom to change your faith
• Freedom to preach and try to convince others of your beliefs to build churches, synagogues, mosques, etc.
• Freedom
• Freedom from being required to affirm a particular set of beliefs in order to attend university, hold a public sector job or stand for election.
Freedoms under attack
Case studies demonstrate how all these freedoms are currently under real attack – not generally from other religions, but from the secular authorities themselves. Barnabas Fund is clearly alarmed that many Christians seem not to be aware of the great erosion of their liberties, or even worse, not to care.
In discussion of the government’s attempt to impose compulsory registration and Ofsted inspection of Sunday schools ( reiterated by Oftsted’s Chief Inspector only weeks ago), the booklet says: ‘The elephant in the room, which no one wants to talk about, is Islam’. In that particular context this may be true, but I believe that the largest elephant – the mammoth – is the whole issue of education in general (see my article here).
The freedom to educate our children according to our beliefs is one of the most fundamental freedoms of all, and it is not mentioned in this booklet, which I think is a serious omission. Section 9 of the 1996 Education Act states that ‘...pupils are to be educated in accordance with the wishes of their parents...’ This provision is now being steadily undermined. What use are all the other liberties if our children are taken and indoctrinated within another religion (namely secular atheism)?
This Barnabas Fund booklet needs to be read prayerfully by all who value our freedoms, and the petition signed. A second edition is needed which covers parental freedom in educating their children. But most of all we must pray 2 Chronicles 7.14. Only the Lord himself can turn the tide of wickedness that is engulfing our country.
