In an article for British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, Cabinet Office minister and Conservative co-chairwoman Warsi argued that people must “feel stronger in their religious identities” in order to create a “just society”.
She said that faith had been “neglected, undermined and attacked” by governments in recent years and urged Europe to become “more confident and more comfortable in its Christianity”.
The life peeress is leading the largest-ever ministerial delegation from the UK to the Holy See, reciprocating Pope Benedict XVI’s state visit to Britain in September. The group has been granted an audience with the pope on Tuesday.
Warsi insisted that the visit was more than a Valentine’s Day “love-in”, adding: “This is about recognising the deep and intrinsic role of faith here in Britain and overseas.
“I will be arguing that to create a more just society, people need to feel stronger in their religious identities and more confident in their creeds,” she wrote in The Telegraph.
“In practice this means individuals not diluting their faiths and nations not denying their religious heritages.”
She said Europe’s culture and values stemmed from centuries of Christian belief, adding: “You cannot and should not extract these Christian foundations from the evolution of our nations any more than you can or should erase the spires from our landscapes.”
Warsi, who is Britain’s first female Muslim cabinet minister, said she fears “a militant secularisation is taking hold of our societies” with religion being “sidelined, marginalised and downgraded”.
“For me, one of the most worrying aspects about this militant secularisation is that at its core and in its instincts it is deeply intolerant,” she added.
The visit has been arranged to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of full diplomatic relations between the UK and the Holy See.
Ministers, including Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, will hold talks with Vatican officials on matters including inter-faith dialogue, human rights, climate change and international development.
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French displayed their secular militancy quite aptly, when they removed the scarves off Muslim women who wanted to ear them.
Secular militancy exists, unless you lot are in denial.
@Mj: "Secularism just means the separation of religion and state — no more, no less. " I don't know whose "secularism" you are defining. In India, secularism (or "sickularism") has come to mean active engagement between the State and a particular religion, Islam, as witness the current fiasco between the Law Minister Khursheed, a Muslim, and the Election Commission (headed incidentally by another Muslim) where the State (in the person of its Law Minister) is intent upon social engineering by way of job quotas for Muslims. Secularism, in my opinion, means that the State has no business getting into your religious affiliation or absence thereof and treats all its citizens equally. It, again in my opinion, incidentally does not mean that the State, in enlightened self-interest of the society as a whole may not extend a helping hand to a section of society if it determines that is needed on the basis of a religious denomination. @gp65: "...the important condition is that they respect people of other faith." No one can make a demand that others respect his/her faith as that faith may not command that respect. The important condition is, in my opinion, that you don't bring faith at all into the picture. Let that be a private matter. "Persecuting Jews and Christians as USSR did, does not qualify as secularism by any means." No, it does not but that is how they defined secularism in the first flush of their success. It was a looney crowd that took over there in Russia then. They also outlawed the institution of marriage and for a while it was a free for all. Pretty soon that part of communist agenda had to be reversed.
@G. Din: "“Secularism” is no exception. Example: Communists in the erstwhile Soviet Union in the first flush of their success. They outlawed religion and then went about burying human beings alive. In India, we call them “sickularists”!"
Communists were atheists not secular. A secular person may practice some religion OR maybe an atheist but the important condition is that they respect people of other faith. Persecuting Jews and Christians as USSR did, does not qualify as secularism by any means.
@G. Din: While there is no doubt that the communist Russia was atheistic in its core ideology, it should not be overlooked that religion was replaced by totalitarian cult of personality around Joseph Stalin. Just as you cannot term North Korea to be a non-religious country, the same rule applies to the criticism of Russia under Lenin. Secularism just means the separation of religion and state -- no more, no less. The way you conflate secularism and persecution/purges of the religious and any other potential dissenters is intellectually dishonest.
Ms. Warsi is perhaps afraid that if religion becomes wholly irrelevent in the UK, she might not be able to secure votes on the basis of her faith rather than her performance. Plus, there's an added inconvenience that critical thinkers tend not to be easily duped by political sloganeering under the banner of religion.
There is no place for religion in modern world.Religion has played its role and now has become obsolete.
Pure hogwash! This is an obvious ploy to bring religion further into the public sphere - and represents the desires of Islamic hardliners and their apologists, not their Christian brethren. It also seeks to use a more visible Christianity to demand similar rights for Islam - and the poor British in the fair-mindedness will need to acquiesce. From there its a slippery slope. Keep religion within the privacy of your homes and allow your values, whether Christian, Muslim or Pastafarian to be seen through your actions instead of wearing your religion on your sleeve.
This is a simple tactics which goes like this..I strongly voice for stronger representations of christian symbols (like cross) ,prayers in start of the council meetings and outward christian rituals to stamp the identity saying we are british who follow the religion christianity ..Now if you buy for this now comes the second sentence .Since British is about equality and tolerance please accept same religious proclamation from our fellow muslim britishers in britain in public places and council meetings.. You get the drift.. Pope is too good to get this ruse.. I for one prefer religion to be a private matter as its faith based and to be kept inside the one's house and one's heart.
@Sayyed Mehdi: "...Since when have secularists resorted to militancy?" Any movement, when it turns into a cult, employs militancy to further its agenda. "Secularism" is no exception. Example: Communists in the erstwhile Soviet Union in the first flush of their success. They outlawed religion and then went about burying human beings alive. In India, we call them "sickularists"!
What does "militant secularisation" mean? Since when have secularists resorted to militancy?
I am an atheist from India and I don't like religion. I feel as a human being we must remove religion from the world to make it a better place. I think Baroness Sayeeda Warsi is hungry for some conservative Christian votes and is giving fuel to this dangerous fire of religion. I would say should embrace her Islamic roots (lead by example!) and wear a burqa and not appear in public like this before preaching others about religion.