Christianity is a world religion. In Britain, it is also a culture: the law, the national anthem, the cross of St George and most of our holidays are rooted in Christianity. Our years are numbered after the birth of Christ, and the linguist David Crystal found 257 phrases in everyday English that come from the King James Bible.
Britons speak of their Judaeo-Christian heritage: some do so with pride. But if Christianity is a culture, it is the only one we are not “sensitive” to. Think of Dominic Grieve’s interview to the Telegraph: had he said that corruption was endemic in (Christian) Italy rather than (Muslim) Pakistan, no one would have raised an eyebrow. But by singling out Muslim Pakistan as corrupt, the Attorney General instantly came under attack from several Muslim grandeesand has been forced to apologise. Good on the Muslim leaders, I say: why not defend their culture to the hilt? If only we Christians could follow their example and stand up for ourselves with the same conviction.
Muslims, though, have an important ally in the liberal establishment. That establishment wants to be seen as “culturally sensitive” in its dealings with certain communities — from the Somalis to the Pakistani. They are reluctant to “interfere” in matters such as genital mutilation and girls’ schooling. Even the atrocious practice of gender-based abortion gets the green light from our culturally sensitive CPS.
With regards to the Christian community, however, the guardians of our traditions have no such compunction. They happily ditch Christian values and traditions, from marriage to Christmas cards; they happily trash Christian concerns over euthanasia and abortion.
The same authorities who believe that all communities must be treated equally, and their cultures shown equal respect, show a clear bias against Christians. They rely on our turning the other cheek, rather than giving them hell. Maybe we should switch tactics.