Published on
7 March 2012
Posted in Abortion, British Politics, Human Life, Legal Affairs, Religion, Social Commentary
A nation is governed –and partly defined — by the rules and regulations on its statute book. Laws are supposed to regulate so as to ensure fairness and justice, as well as to prohibit behaviours deemed contrary to the good of society. They have a purpose: development and protection of the common good within the […]
Published on
29 February 2012
Posted in British Politics, Christianity, Conscience, Marriage & Family, Religion
In August 2011 a cross-party group of MPs and Peers called Christians in Parliament set up an inquiry into the freedom of Christians. Its preliminary report, Clearing the Ground, was published on Monday. The need of such an inquiry was felt due to media reports of Christians feeling that the law was discriminated against them. […]
Published on
3 February 2012
From a guest blogger: A position commonly held by ‘reformers’ in various religious traditions in this country may be summarised roughly in the following lines: If the central authority of a religion is at odds with beliefs held by the majority of that its adherents, the former is duty-bound to reconsider and even to change […]
Published on
30 January 2012
Posted in Culture, Education, Europe, Freedom, Human Rights, Moral Philosophy, Music & Art, Philosophy, Religion
From a guest blogger: What is it that St. Peter’s Basilica, Climate Change, the Euro Crisis and Beethoven’s Ode to Joy have in common? I shall not keep you guessing. All four demonstrate that humans are not only special, but also without doubt the most special of creatures on Planet Earth. Consider for a moment […]
Published on
23 December 2011
Posted in British Politics, Christianity, Public Policy, Religion
Last Friday, in Oxford, the Prime Minister gave a speech to mark the four-hundredth anniversary of the King James Bible. He began that speech with the following words: I know there are some who will question why I am giving this speech. And if they happen to know that I’m setting out my views today […]
Published on
27 June 2011
From a Guest Blogger: Having grown up not five miles from Stonehenge I feel a certain affinity with the stones and with the surrounding countryside. The area is fantastic for walks and many views are stunning: that from my bedroom at sunset was one of the best though unfortunately there is no chance of seeing […]
Published on
24 June 2011
Trevor Phillips, Chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has given a revealing interview to The Sunday Telegraph on the place of religious belief in Britain today. Despite being billed as ‘a wide-ranging intervention into the growing debate on the place of religion in modern society’, and in spite of starting by making […]
Published on
13 June 2011
Posted in Big Society, British Politics, Christianity, Conscience, Ethics in the Media, Religion
As a Catholic and an Englishman I have never quite understood the enthusiasm of some of my European co-religionists for the idea that there must be strict separation between state and Church, and have often thought that the amusement to be derived from watching indignant Frenchmen flail their arms around indignantly about Bishops sitting in […]