'The War on Christianity' - Panel says: 'Britain no longer a Christian country, time to rid public life of Anglicaninsm.

'The War on Christianity' - Panel says: 'Britain no longer a Christian country, time to rid public life of Anglicaninsm. (NP).

Britain is no longer a Christian country and should stop acting as if it is, a top-level inquiry into the place of religion in society has concluded, provoking a backlash from politicians and the Church of England.

A two-year commission, chaired by the former senior judge Baroness Butler-Sloss and involving leading religious leaders of all faiths, calls for public life to be systematically de-Christianized.

It says the decline of church-going and the rise of Islam and other beliefs mean a “new settlement” is needed for religion in the U.K., giving more official influence to non-religious voices and those of non-Christian faiths.

The report triggered a quarrel Sunday night as it was condemned by cabinet ministers as “seriously misguided,” while the Church of England said it appeared to have been “hijacked” by humanists.

The commission has attracted particular controversy because of the authority of those behind it. Patrons include Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury; Lord Woolf, the former chief justice; and Sir Iqbal Sacranie, the former general secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain. Hmmm......In a situation where another religion, controls Muslims it mandates a "Jihad." According to Islamic doctrine, "Jihad" can assume various forms depending on prevailing circumstances."Legal Jihad" continues the struggle in the halls of international courts and institutions. Read the full story here.

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In 2008 Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams faced a huge backlash in the right-wing press, which had picked up on a rather arcane speech that appeared to endorse the adoption of some aspects of Islamic sharia law in Britain. Williams argued that other religions enjoyed tolerance of their own laws and called for "constructive accommodation" with Muslim practice in areas such as marital disputes. 

The year before, in an interview with the British Muslim magazine Emel, he caused a similar stir, comparing British Muslims to good Samaritans and arguing that the US had lost the moral high ground since 9/11.

In Faith in the Public Square, he emphasises a different theme, stating that "Muslims must make clear that their loyalty is straightforward modern political loyalty to the nation state", rather than an "overriding loyalty to the International Muslim Community (the Umma)".