The National Trust has been widely criticised for producing a calendar that features religious festivals such as Diwali, Ramadan and Eid – but not Easter and Christmas.
A statement from the NT said: ‘We have an Inclusion and Wellbeing Calendar that is an internal resource, used to keep staff and volunteers up to date about awareness months and minority religious and cultural celebrations they might not otherwise be familiar with.
‘For this reason, Christmas and Easter, which are national public holidays, are not included on that particular planner.’
Graham Nicholls, director of Affinity, commented: ‘While I realise this is not their only calendar, I was disappointed to see that [its] “inclusion and well-being” calendar did not include any reference to Christianity whilst Ramadan, Diwali and Hannukah are all there, along with some ideologically challenging celebrations.
‘Maybe we Christians weren’t considered a religious minority (which essentially we are), or that we don’t help anyone’s wellbeing (which obviously we do). But, more to the point, I think it is symptomatic of a desire to airbrush out our Christian heritage.
‘What goes on the calendar is a sign of our priorities and Christianity is really not one of them, just a curiosity of our past history; just another indicator that we are no longer a nation sympathetic to authentic Christianity and the need for gospel proclamation and fervent prayer.’
According to the NT’s inclusion and diversity policy, the Inclusion and Wellbeing calendar is ‘Developed with our networks to help recognise, highlight and celebrate moments which are significant to a wide range of people and cultures’.
The liberty of exclusivity: Choice, freedom and Jesus
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