Dear Editor,
The desire to stand with our neighbours, sharing and working together, is not inherently ‘humanistic’ as implied in your commentary on Brexit in August’s en. The referendum was a choice between partnership or ‘going it alone’. I chose partnership – and I did so as a Christian, not a humanist.
But I stand with you on the issue of our unity and identity in Christ. We have so much to be thankful for as Christians. Although, sadly, the vast majority of voters do not have that same hope and assurance.
For many of us, being European as well as British has become part of our identity over the years, and the younger generations have known nothing else. Now the rug has been pulled and it’s an unsettling time. But the referendum campaign also exposed another ‘identity story’: those who rallied to the cry of ‘I want my country back’. They are pinning their hopes on Brexit, but will their expectations be met in a world that is now so interconnected? Even so, Brexit, like the EU, can never give us true identity.
The extraordinarily divisive referendum campaign inflamed passions to an alarming degree and split the country down the middle. The narrow majority for leave means that more than 40 years of work, building partnerships with our neighbours, will now have to be undone. To remainers this is like an act of vandalism. So expressions of anger and frustration are understandable.
The country needs to unite somehow, but can that be achieved by disregarding the view of 48% of the voters? The public debate will continue for several years to come as the complex details of Brexit are worked out. This needs to be characterised by greater integrity than the recent referendum campaign.
We must pray for a spirit of charity all round, and colossal wisdom for our leaders.
Yours sincerely,
