A member of the British Parliament, Nick Fletcher, has warned against moves to obliterate the influence of Christianity from the country’s history.
He expressed worries that the country appears to be reluctant to celebrate its Christian heritage.
Fletcher, the Conservative Parliamentarian for Don Valley,
who stated this during a debate in Westminster Hall on the importance of Christianity in society, said fewer and fewer people understand even the most basic claims of the Christian faith, adding that the UK ought to be proud of its heritage.
“Some want to rewrite history, but everywhere we look, we see our Christian heritage, and nowhere more than in this place.
“It matters to our national life; it is the air we breathe, Although, many deride and want to misrepresent it, the reality is that it has been a source of great benefit.
“Much of what makes Britain great stems from this heritage, and many others from around the world recognise that, so why don’t we?
“We should be proud of our Christian history and our Christian values. It would be a constitutional disaster to try and erase it, but even worse, it would be a spiritual disaster,” he said.
Also speaking during the debate, British Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Homelessness, Felicity Buchan, said the number of Christians living in the country has decreased though the religion remains most prominent.
Buchan noted the impact of religion on British history as well as in local communities, despite the falling number of Christian faithful as shown in the recent Census.
“The latest Census tells us that the number of Christians living in this country has decreased, however, Christianity remains the most prominent.
Christianity has shaped this country’s history, and we should recognise and celebrate that. We can all be proud of our Christian heritage and values,” she said.
Declining religion
According to the results of the 2021 Census in the UK, only 46.2 per cent of the country’s population describe themselves as Christians. This was against 59.3 per cent in 2011, a decade earlier. Though Christianity remained the largest single defined religion, the decline is about 5.5 million people.
The result however revealed that the proportion of those identifying as non-religious is up by 12 per cent from 25.2 per cent in 2011 to 37.2 per cent in 2021, Muslim 4.9 per cent to 6.5 per cent, Hindu 1.5 per cent to 1.7 per cent and Sikh 0.8 per cent to 0.9 per cent.