There’s a certain neatness about the week in which Nick Clegg admits he doesn’t believe in God being the same week that Tony Blair converts to Catholicism. Religion and politics rarely mixes in British politics, and so it is unusual for there to be so much discussion about it.
Personally, I cannot understand why someone saying they don’t believe in God should be such a big news story. I know so many people who don’t believe in God, (and it is probably a majority amongst my friends in the Lib Dems), that I tend to think of it as the norm. Even those friends who do believe in God would think nothing of someone saying that they don’t believe in God and wouldn’t think any worse of them because of it. In a country where there is a decent percentage who say they have ‘no religion’ in the census, it is odd that there aren’t more politicians who say they are atheists.
I have a lot of sympathy for the view of Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, when he says:
It matters less to me [that a politician doesn't believe in God] than to know they are honest and reliable and that what beliefs they have they hold sincerely.
To me, it is someone’s principles, values and morals that are important, not how they come by them. One phrase I have heard which I like and probably sums up where I see myself, is that of someone being “an atheist with Christian values”.
To me, it is your values and principles that are most important. I don’t care whether someone has them because they are a Christian, a Muslim, a Jew or if they have no religion at all. You don’t have to believe in God to have the same values and principles as everyone else. You can simply believe in them because they are right.
3 responses so far ↓
Greg Jerome // 24 December 2007 at 2:19 am |
You certainly describe the way politics and religion should relate to one another. I don’t know if you follow politics in the US, but we tend to be more interested in the religious beliefs than the policy beliefs. This often gets us in trouble and we miss the real point of elections and public policy (see Bush Admin.). Many here equate religious “values” to honesty and integrity, atheist candidates are dead in the water.
As far as I can see the US is becoming more secular, just not as fast as some of us would like.
Jersey // 24 December 2007 at 6:03 am |
Certain areas more than others. California, New York, and New Jersey are secularizing more than the Bible Belt (the southeastern US), which appears to be growing in religious by the numbers.
Linda Jack // 24 December 2007 at 9:11 am |
Anders, have to agree with you. I am mortified, as a christian, that the likes of Bush and Blair claim divine inspiration for the atrocities in Iraq and for their Middle East policy which is condoning apartheid. And as for the announcement of Blair’s conversion I had the same thought about the strange symmetry with Nick’s comment.