Politics and religion

During the past few months the UK Labour government has come under attack from various quarters for its policies on certain moral issues. A Scottish Catholic bishop has accused the Labour government of "creating a morality devoid of any Christian principle".

He bluntly warned Labour not to take Catholic voters for granted. "For generations including myself," he was reported to have said "Catholics in their droves tended to vote consistently for Labour... But over the past few months... that allegiance has been severely tested to the point, I think, of being broken."

A couple of weeks before the elections for the Scottish Parliament, which were held in May, the Scottish bishops issued a pastoral letter in which they urged Catholics "to challenge attacks on Christian values when they go to the polls". In the letter, Scottish Catholics were told that "bishops remain deeply concerned about legislation which allows abortion, embryo experimentation, easy divorce and civil partnerships...

"Your bishops urge you to use your vote to support the candidates who offer the best chance of bringing the voice of a truly human and Christian civilisation to the decision-making chambers of our country." Criticism has also come from some Labour quarters.

A Catholic Labour MP who is a contender for the post of deputy Prime Minister expressed the view that the party is now being seen as one which supports unbridled materialism. He also accused the party that it has become "too authoritarian and was no longer willing to tolerate religious ideals at odds with its policies".

This view, however, was not shared by another candidate for the deputy leadership, who said that the freedom to practise religion was fundamental to his beliefs. "I can't believe there is a threat to that under a Labour government." Church leaders, however, do see a rising threat to the role of religion in British society.

The head of the Anglican Church, Dr Rowan Williams, is scheduled to meet Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor and Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks to study how they can meet the threat "to squeeze religion from public life". According to The Catholic Herald "the meeting is being arranged amid fears that religious institutions, such as charities and schools, will come under new attack now that the government has set a precedent by passing the SORs (Sexual Orientation Regulations) without sufficient exemptions for religious groups".

The regulations, meant to ensure that there would be no discrimination against homosexual couples who wanted to adopt children, were attacked by Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders, who said that the regulations "forbid religious believers from acting in accordance with their conscience".

The stand taken by Church leaders to safeguard Christian values from threats by legislation promulgated "in defence of human rights" is often attacked by liberals as unacceptable interference in politics by the Church. Such accusations were recently levelled at the Italian bishops who oppose the legal recognition of same sex unions.

Referring to this controversy, Pope Benedict XVI told Italian bishops that while the Church respects the separation of Church and State, "we cannot help concerning ourselves with that which is good..." At the risk of being accused with interfering in politics, the Church cannot remain silent in the face of repeated threats to fundamental Christian values.