News Archive
The traditional faction of the Church of England, which over recent weeks has threatened a schism over gay rights and women bishops, has forwarded another bold motion for their liberal peers to deal with.
Paul Eddy, a member of the Church’s ruling Synod, has proposed that the conversion of people from other faiths to Anglicanism become one of the chief objectives of the Church.
This could not be further from the approach of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, who angered peers in the past by suggesting that elements of Shia Law be adopted among Muslim communities in England.
For Eddy’s motion to progress a two-thirds majority will have to be achieved among bishops, clergy and lay members of the Synod. The future direction of a faith with 80 million members will be decided over the coming weeks.
The extravagent wedding of two gay priests has sparked worldwide outcry this week, as they became the first homosexual couple to be blessed in an Anglican service.
Grooms Peter Cowell, 50, and David Lord, 28, spent £80,000 on the event which included a seven-tier cake and diamond-encrusted wedding rings worth £8000 a piece.
Reverend Doctor Martin Dudley married the pair despite the ruling of the Anglican Lambeth Conference stating that gay marriage and biblical teaching are 'incompatible'.
The Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, has ordered an inquiry into the ceremony.
The event has also attracted critics outside the church. Humanist master of ceremonies Graham Ward said: "The hypocrisy is astounding - they will marry two gay men in a church but when it's a couple of heterosexual divorcees so often they don't want to know."
It appears unclear as to whether this will become a precedent for future gay marriages.
This week Channel 4's Big Brother was host to one of the most hypocritical religious rants to be heard on television, arising from an argument between two Muslims.
Reality television housemates Alexandra and Mohamed locked horns after he and the other men in the house dressed up in drag as part of his birthday celebration.
"You disgust me," 23-year-old Alexandra said, after demanding that Mohamed remove his bra while he talks to her. "As a Muslim man you should be someone I look up to you. This is not what a Muslim should do."
When Mohamed retorted by questioning Alexandra on her drinking habits and the mini skirts she wears, she switched the subject back to him as quickly as possible - perhaps before Mohamed could bring up the fact that Alexandra was a single mother at 16.
"Neither of them are in a great position to say what a good Muslim should or shouldn't do," said Imam Majid Yasin of the Bournemouth Central Mosque. "When they have more integrity themselves, maybe then they can start preaching to others."
"It’s very interesting," commented Big Brother online editor Jo Coffey. "Naturally we have to be very wary with this kind of thing, but because the argument is between two Muslims we can be less worried about repercussions."
The government's ever-increasing efforts to appease minority communties in the public sector have been met with scorn from both the Anglican Church and the National Secular Society alike.
A report by Bishop Stephen Lowe criticised the data from the Charity Commission that is used by the government to gauge religious attitudes in the public, describing it as "very weak".
This data provides the clout behind the government's insistence on consulting a what the report describes as a "disproportionate" number of minority groups, "to the relative exclusion of the Christian Church and hundreds of other charities."
The report, Moral, But No Compass – Government, Church, and the Future of Welfare, recommends that "the government introduce new legislation to create a level playing field for faith-based agencies seeking to engage in public service reform, contracting and civic action."
Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, which promotes entirely non-religious political discourse, said in a statement: "The only way to curb this burgeoning sectarian battleground is to disestablish the Church of England and make government a secular, neutral space that does not favour any religion."
He also added: "Faith-based welfare has been a catastrophe in the United States and it would be in Britain."
In an offical press release, the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams stressed the contriubutions made by faith-based organisations to "the common good" of Britain.
Click here for the National Secular Society's opinion on the proposal.