"Christians teaching Biblical truth on Sunday or any
other day of the week should not be looked upon as if they are somehow
doing something so awful that the State needs to be constantly looking
over their shoulder. Christians are not terrorists and should not be
treated as if they are." -Andrea Williams, CEO of Christian Concern
(United
Kingdom)—Christian charities CARE, Christian Concern, Evangelical
Alliance, Lawyers' Christian Fellowship and The Christian Institute
recently issued a joint statement and call to action over Government
proposals to register and inspect church youth work. (Photo via YouTube)
The statement reads:
"Requiring churches in England to register
before they are legally allowed to help children learn the Christian
values our nation was built on is an unjustified restriction of
religious liberty. Whether the threshold is 6 hours in any week or
higher, the principle of outlawing 'unregistered churches' from teaching
children the Gospel is an unacceptable overreach of the state.
"The Government says the Office for
Standards and Education (Ofsted) will only inspect churches for 'British
values' compliance if there is a complaint.
However, the scope for vexatious complaints
is considerable, especially in the current climate of aggressive
secularism and religious illiteracy. The experience of some Christian
schools is that inspectors themselves can be ignorant of or hostile to
Christian beliefs and practices.
"We do not believe Ofsted should become the
state regulator of religion. For an inspector to scrutinize
a Sunday School class, Bible study, youth meeting or church weekend away
would be highly intrusive. The prospect of inspectors questioning
volunteer leaders and children (without their parents) is an unwarranted
incursion into private religion and family life.
"Christians
are peace-loving, law-abiding citizens who respect authority and love
their neighbors. They are a major source of volunteering, and represent
the best of 'British values'. To require such people to submit to
registration and inspection to ensure they are not encouraging terrorism
is profoundly misconceived. (Photo via Relevant Magazine)
"Whilst Christians wholeheartedly support
reasonable measures to prevent terrorism and violent extremism, these
proposals will lead to a loss of civil liberties and create a large
bureaucracy that will divert resources away from restraining extremists
who reject UK law. Such individuals will simply ignore or effortlessly
circumvent the registration requirements. We urge the government to drop
these proposals and develop a targeted, intelligence-led approach that
will genuinely inhibit the activities of violent extremists."
It concludes with the following urgent call to action:
"We call on Christians, churches and affected
organizations in England to contact their MPs and urge them to oppose
these plans."
CARE Chief Executive Nola Leach said:
"The Government's plans to empower Ofsted to
inspect Sunday Schools and other church activities is simply not the
best way to tackle the radicalization of young people. It is a wholly
unwarranted undermining of religious freedom. We support tackling
extremism, but not in this sweeping, overly broad manner."
Andrea Williams, CEO of Christian Concern, added:
"Christians teaching Biblical truth on
Sunday or any other day of the week should not be looked upon as if they
are somehow doing something so awful that the State needs to be
constantly looking over their shoulder. Christians are not terrorists
and should not be treated as if they are."
The Evangelical Alliance's Head of Public Policy, Simon McCrossan, said:
"These proposals amount to the wholesale
nationalization of youth work and the state regulation of private
religious practice, more akin to 'Big Brother' than 'Big Society.' If
implemented, there is a real risk churches will feel forced to step back
from the valuable services they currently provide to young people
across society."
Mark Jones, Chairman of the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship, said:
"The Lawyers' Christian Fellowship condemns
violence and terrorism. We have grave concerns about the proposals,
which could be counter-productive to the stated aims and may arguably
place the UK in breach of its international human rights obligations."
And Colin Hart, Director of The Christian Institute, added:
"Christians are justifiably alarmed at the
prospect of Ofsted conducting 'British values' inspections of church
youth work. The freedom to proclaim the Gospel, and indeed our wider
civil liberties, must be protected, not undermined in the name of
'counter-extremism.'"
Link>
Source: www.breakingchristiannews.com/