In the past few weeks, there has been some debate here in Britain over a statement from the Prime Minister David Cameron about Britain being a Christian country. As with any statement like this, there are multiple ways to interpret it, in one way, he's broad-brush blaming non-Christianity for moral decline, in another, he's saying little beyond that Christianity has had a strong position on Britain in the past. Therefore, I don't particularly intend this thread to be a discussion on the statement itself (there are plenty of people of different rhetorical weight who have made their opinions on the statement known). Instead, I'd like to bring this up in a context of the debate of the US being a Christian nation. In particular, I'd like people to reevaluate some of the arguments they have been using in the US debate. The UK does not have a proper separation of church and state but contain more non-religious than the US does. I get the feeling that many arguments that are being thrown around in the US debate, like constitutional references, are kind of moot, since the arguments either way should be just as valid in the UK which does not have the same constitution as the US. Thoughts?
It is still a majority Christian country, of course, so in one sense it can be said to be a "Christian nation". But even the Christians have a tendency to be quite "low key" about it. I think I've only ever met two people in my life who believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible, for example, and I can count on one hand the number of times I have been openly disrespected simply for being an atheist. But moving on to what I think is the main issue you are raising. The old phrase "democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what's for dinner", oft mis-quoted and mis-used, nonetheless cleverly illustrates the idea of "tyranny of the majority", and a fair society would strive to avoid it. I think in most respects, the UK manages to do so, despite not having a written constitution that separates church and state.
I think it's funny when any dunderhead country declares itself to be christian........ those who do don't seem to realize that the rest of the world KNOWS what that christian country has done...all the horrors, all the bad things, all it's warts and stench and corruption are out there for all to see ..it's no different than any other country !!!!!!!! ....and christians think this is good advertising !!!...
UK is a majority Christian nation, and many of its traditions and culture are steeped in Christianity. And isn't there a law saying only a Christian can be Monarch?
According to the BBC piece on the subject: "In British Attitudes Survey in 2010, 43% were Christian and 51% no religion" It should be added that there is a tendency to write church of England even when not religious, but such effects are unpredictable and don't actually add to the study in this case. My guess would be that it is a fair deal greater than 1%, though. Edit: Also, I seem to remember being told that if Scotland is free, it would be the most non-religious country, which says something about both Scotland and UK. Not sure where that info comes from, though, so it might very well be false.
How far does one go back to pick the religion of the country, why stop at Christianity, why not go back to what they were for far longer which was pagans believing in many Gods.
Is this some kind of "no true scotsman" fallacy or are you really under the impression that almost nobody in Britain tries to follow the teachings of Christ?
That doesnt seem quite right. That survey in 2013 showed just over half of brits identified as christians, and the 2011 census, which i would trust more than a survey, put it at about 60%, with non-religious at about 30%. While youre right that the figure was higher in scotland it was still only 37%.
uk is a well established pagan nation, not sure what part of the isles you exist on, maybe in a monastery?? - - - Updated - - - lol. it must be true then if your survey says so.
families state that they are church of england, as was noted, yet none of them have ever picked up a bible in their lives. The few christians there are in uk think that the messiah was some roman emperor. this is a pagan doctrine, not a christian one. The 1% of uk citizens [who are christians] know who the messiah was and know that salvation is through Israel first. - - - Updated - - - what survey?
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm:77-286262 http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/documents/censusresults/release2a/scotland/KS209SCa.pdf
Maybe you could look at the numbers in the survey and census data being examined in this very thread.
Only 1% of people in the UK have ever picked up a bible? What do you base that bizarre claim on? And, most UK Christians think the messiah was a Roman emperor? Where are you getting these ludicrous ideas?
Well, unless the guy with the no true scotsman argument is right, we can still conclude that there is a fair chunk of both Christians and non-religious in the UK. That of course brings up the question of whether there is a hard limit exactly on the majority line. Can one by clever border drawing alter the fundamental ethics of government?
