Atheists and agnostics outnumber Christians
Research has found that for the first time, those without a religion outnumber Christians in England and Wales. The main driver is people brought up with some religion now saying they have no religion. Those brought up as Anglicans and Catholics are most likely to leave the Church, with four out of ten adults raised as Anglicans abandoning their faith. Rising trends of secularism have also been reported across Europe in the past decade, with a study in March finding that the majority of Norwegians no longer believe in God. Pray for us to raise our faith and expectation, our commitment to prayer, to raise our eyes from what we are seeing around us, to take our eyes off the falling and the decaying and to lift our eyes to God; pray also for a powerful new move of God. Read a prophetic word given by Malcolm Duncan at a recent WPC prayer event:
Counter-extremism proposals and free speech
Last week the Christian Institute stated, ‘The Government’s planned Counter-Extremism and Safeguarding Bill must be carefully crafted to avoid damaging freedom of expression.’ The chief executive of Index on Censorship said, ‘We should resist any attempts to make it a crime for people of faith to talk publicly about their beliefs, for political parties to voice unpopular views, and for venues to host anyone whose opinions challenge the status quo. We urge the Government to use its consultation to ensure this does not happen.’ The proposals for a new law, outlined in the Queen’s Speech, are more ambiguous than earlier Government proposals. Current legislation already prohibits incitement to violence and terrorism, and a compelling case for broadening them further through civil measures has not been made. It is still not clear how new legislation would deal with the problem of defining ‘extremism’ in a way that would not threaten free speech.
New resource for schools
Teaching of Christianity in schools is set to be transformed by a new resource from the Church of England, launched yesterday. Understanding Christianity is a set of comprehensive materials and training which will enable pupils from age 4 to 14 to develop their understanding of Christianity, as a contribution to making sense of the world and their own experience within it. Available to schools across the country, it was written by a team of RE advisers from RE Today Services, in collaboration with more than 30 teachers and academics. It has been trialled in over fifty schools. Understanding Christianity was commissioned by the Church of England education office with the support of Culham St Gabriels, The Sir Halley Stewart Trust, the Jerusalem Trust and an anonymous donor. The chief education officer for the Church of England said that the ability for young people to have informed conversation and dialogue about belief and faith is key to building a peaceful society and helps combat ignorance and extremism.
Dementia: different perspectives
Recently Angela Rippon investigated dementia in a TV programme. Dementia took her mother’s life and is now affecting her friends. Angela visited people who are living with the disease and families that carry a gene for early-onset Alzheimer’s. In an ageing population, dementia is an issue that is likely to touch each one of us some time in our lives. We are hearing more about it on the media as our population ages. In his article ‘Dementia, God, & Christian Faith’ James Howell, a pastor in Charlotte, North Carolina, says that polls indicate we fear dementia more than we fear cancer. However in Christianity, well-being is not gauged by the presence or absence of illness or distress. Well-being is defined by the presence of God, and God is not distant from the one with dementia, or from those who love someone with dementia. Howell says, ‘Can someone with dementia have a spiritual life? I’ve seen forgetful, withdrawn people to be quite prayerful; faith sometimes achieves a lovely simplicity in such instances.’ See
