THE former Attorney General Dominic Grieve has warned that
Christianity is being forced out of public life by an "aggressive
form of secularism".
Mr Grieve, an Anglican,
told The Daily Telegraph that it was "extraordinary"
that Christians could lose their jobs because they were public
about their faith or even for wearing a cross. "I worry that there
are attempts to push faith out of the public space. Some of the
cases which have come to light of employers being disciplined or
sacked for simply trying to talk about their faith in the workplace
I find quite extraordinary. The sanitisation will lead to people of
faith excluding themselves from the public space and being
excluded."
Mr Grieve, who was recently sacked from the Cabinet, also
criticised the arms-length approach to religion taken by Tony
Blair's government. "I think politicians should express their
faith. I have never adhered to the Blair view that we don't do God;
indeed, I'm not sure that Blair does. I think that people with
faith have an entitlement to explain where that places them in
approaching problems. It doesn't mean that we have the monopoly of
wisdom, but I do think Christianity has played an enormous role in
shaping this country."
In the interview, he said that the UK should be stronger in
holding Israel to account over its recent war in Gaza. "We are not
acting as good friends to Israel if we do not highlight our view as
to whether we think they are doing the right thing.
"I have come across very few colleagues in government who are
comfortable with what has been going on. . . Killing large numbers
of children in UN schools which are supposed to be havens of safety
is a very unfortunate event to take place."