Westminster Hall debate on abolishing bishops in the Lords
The future of the Church of England bishops in the House of Lords will be considered in a Westminster Hall debate on 6 July. It was organised by the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group and applied for by the Scottish National Party MP Tommy Sheppard. He has spoken in the past of the bishops’ presence as “incredibly unrepresentative” of the population. He said the debate on the bishops’ bench would provide the opportunity to put questions to ministers that “they will find hard to answer”. The debate is backed by the National Secular Society, which is calling for the removal of the bishops’ bench and for religion to play no part in the selection of members in the second chamber.
“The Sacred” podcast features Wes Streeting MP on being a gay Christian
“The Sacred” podcast, produced by the think tank Theos, features an interview with Labour MP Wes Streeting, who discusses what it means to be a gay Christian. He told the interviewer, Elizabeth Oldfield, that he was a “practising Christian – practising and still not very good at it.” His moral compass is underpinned by Christian teaching, he said, but that leads to struggles for gay Christians because of Bible verses condemning homosexuality. He explained that he had agonised over feeling forced to choose between faith and sexuality, but he values honesty and when he came out, he felt a sense of liberation. Sacred podcast is here
Charity accused of conversion therapy wins compensation
Barclays is paying more than £20,000 in compensation to the Core Issues Trust charity, after its account was closed following LGBT protests. It supports people who voluntarily seek to change their sexual preference, expression or gender identity, but it has been accused of carrying out conversion therapy. Criticism on social media led to intimidating messages against staff and days later, Barclays cancelled its account. Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, the trust said the bank had given in to campaigners in an act of discrimination. The bank denied this, but just before the case was due to be heard at the High Court, it made a settlement offer of £21,500 in compensation with legal costs to follow, which the charity accepted. The bank accounts have not been reinstated and Barclays has not apologised or admitted liability.
Catholic Union launches campaign to lift cap of faith admissions to new free schools
The Catholic Union has launched a campaign to lift the 50 percent cap on faith-based admissions to new free schools. It says the cap applies to oversubscribed free schools with a religious character in England, but it is incompatible with Catholic law, so it is impossible to set up new Catholic free schools. The Catholic Union, along with the Catholic Education Service and others, has been calling for the policy to be reversed since it was first introduced in 2010. They are urging supporters to sign an open letter of protest to the Education Secretary Gillian Keegan. The President of the Catholic Union, Sir Edward Leigh MP, said lifting the cap would be a “huge vote of confidence in Catholic schools in this country”.
Oxford’s first Hindu temple created from derelict sports pavilion
Plans to turn a derelict sports pavilion into Oxfordshire’s first community-owned Hindu temple have been approved by the city council. The pavilion and changing rooms at Court Place Farm in Marston will be renovated and rented out on a 26 year lease to the Oxford Hindu Temple and Community Centre, in a decision which ends 14 years of discussion and searching. The building will be a place of worship and a community centre with social activities for the elderly, English language classes, yoga, music and wellbeing classes.
Swedish police allow demonstration where Quran was burned
Swedish police allowed a protest to go ahead outside a Stockholm mosque at the start of the Eid al-Adha holiday, at which the Quran was burned. The Guardian reports that an account by the Swedish public broadcaster SVT said that the man responsible for the demonstration tore pages from the Quran, wiped his shoes with some of them and burned others, then placed a slice of bacon in the book. The organiser was being investigated for incitement and violating a seasonal ban on lighting fires in Sweden. One man was reportedly suspected of attempted assault, and another who was carrying a rock was removed by police. Turkey’s foreign minister has criticised the burning of the Quran amidst fears that he could block Sweden’s application to join NATO, expected to be discussed at a meeting next week.
Half a million people leave Catholic church in Germany
The Associated Press reports that more than half a million people formally left the Catholic Church in Germany last year, as the church deals with scandals of clergy sex abuse. It says that the German Bishops’ Conference said 522,821 left the church last year, up from 359,338 in 2021, the previous record. That compared with just 1,447 people joining the Catholic Church, around the same as the previous year. Even so, the number of Catholic Church members in Germany is nearly 20.94 million, just under a quarter of the population.
“Empowering Voices” podcast gives children wide understanding of religion and worldviews
A series of podcasts featuring stories of people from different faith traditions and holding different world views, has been produced by Lincoln Diocesan Board of Education, aimed at children in years 6 and 7. The eight part “Empowering Voices” series has featured Christian, Muslim, Sikhi and Humanist worldviews from areas throughout England, not just Lincolnshire. Other faiths will feature later this year. The podcasts show how views shape life choices and values, by beginning with a play acted by pupils teasing out ethical dilemmas and moral choices, followed by a panel discussion of the issues involved. The producers say the series is needed to offer schools and local communities greater knowledge and awareness, and to provide the opportunity to learn more about a range of cultures and traditions. They say: “The project challenges pre-existing views and encourages young people and their local community to have courageous conversations about citizenship using social and moral scenarios”. More on Empowering Voices website here.
