INTOLERANCE: Taxpayer supported cristophobia!

Christians face funding bias, says Archbishop | The Christian Institute
HT - Public bodies are ‘intolerant’ of Christian groups | Cranmer

The USA is not the only place where Christians feel their government is cristophobic.

The Archbishop of York has spoken of Government ‘intolerance’ against Christian groups when it comes to funding community initiatives. [TCI]

While faith remains a primary motivation for charitable and voluntary work in Britain, increasingly voluntary groups which have a Christian foundation are viewed as ‘tainted and unsuitable for receipt of funding’ by public bodies.
[Cranmer]

Of course the "separation of church and state" is enshrined in the left's mythological Constitution of the United States, where only hard fought victories are achieved through "faith based" efforts; no such ironclad and arbitrary barrier to government funding exists across the pond.

... Dr Sentamu has noticed ‘a chill wind that blows around grant makers and managers of funds’ when they consider the plans of faith groups. He said: “We must resist any trend in national or local Government where the decision as to whether a solution works is not based on results, but upon the intolerance that sees a project motivated by faith as being tainted and unsuitable for receipt of funding. Rather there should be a recognition of the valuable work being carried out by groups motivated to serve the common good by a belief in dignity of all as God’s creatures in which his divine spark resides.”[Cranmer]

So many volunteers have opted out of faith based work and so many organizations have given up under governmental cristophobic intolerance and disdain. This has resulted in many not receiving much needed care and service which might have been provided.

Christian groups “are working at the coalface of pastoral care and social practice,” he said, “motivated by nothing more than their love of God and the love for their neighbour”.

Many are working with the elderly, children and the disabled. Dr Sentamu said there are 22,000 religious charities helping people in England and Wales, while churchgoers contribute more than 23 million hours of voluntary service each year.[TCI]

I'm not aware of the comparable American data, so I can't say with any certainty the contribution of our people and organizations. However, any reasonable analyst must admit it is a least as good per capita/dollar of contribution.

More TCI ...
More Cranmer ...

Charity, Christianity, Cristophobia,
England, Intolerance, Religion

GOVERNMENT: Irish Cardinal sees unease with EU's aims among Christians!

Cardinal criticises EU attitude to Christian way of life | Irish Times

HT: Cardinal Says EU Undermines Christianity | Brussels Journal

Irish Cardinal Brady chastens EU leadership for their disrespect (read Cristophobic view) of Christians, Christianity, and their concomitant values. Of course we must recall that what was a wholly Christian populace in 1900 is barely a shadow of that 100 years later.

"The experience of many Christians within the EU is that this lowest common denominator invariably coincides with the secular and relativist tradition within Europe - that which denies moral absolutes with an objective basis - rather than the religious view."

Brady goes on to comment ...

"As the recent referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland suggests, at least some of those who were previously enthusiastic about the founding aims of the EU, both social and economic, are now expressing unease," he said. [...]

To ignore "this trend within the EU and its impact on people of faith has inevitable political and social consequences, not least on levels of support for the project itself", he said. [...]

Such an approach ended up with Christians "being denied the right to intervene in public debates or at least having their contribution dismissed as an attempt to protect unjustified privileges, such as, for example, the right to employ people who support the ethos of a Christian institution". [...]

"Successive decisions [of the EU institutions] have undermined the family based on marriage, the right to life from the moment of conception to natural death, the sacredness of the Sabbath, the right of Christian institutions to maintain and promote their ethos, including schools - these and other decisions have made it more difficult for committed Christians to maintain their instinctive commitment to the European project," he said.

As to the future of the EU ...

"Without respect for its Christian memory and soul, I believe it is possible to anticipate continuing difficulties for the European project. These will emerge not only in economic terms but in terms of social cohesion and the continued growth of a dangerous individualism that does not care about God or about what the future might have in store."

Christianity, Cristophobia, EU,
Family Values, Religion