"That this Synod express its conviction that it is the calling of Christians to order and govern our lives in accordance with the teaching of Holy Scripture, and to manifest our faith in public life as well as in private, giving expression to our beliefs in the written and spoken word, and in practical acts of service to the local community and to the nation."

(United Kingdom)—On Sunday, July 8th the Church of England's Parliament, the General Synod, agreed to "overwhelmingly back the right of Christians to 'manifest their faith in the public square,'" said a report from ChristianConcern.com.

Present at the debate prior to the vote, was Nurse Caroline Petrie who had been discriminated against for offering to pray with a patient, as well as Olive Jones, a teacher who had been fired for sharing her testimony with a student.

After the debate, the Synod voted 263 to 25 to pass the following motion:

"That this Synod express its conviction that it is the calling of Christians to order and govern our lives in accordance with the teaching of Holy Scripture, and to manifest our faith in public life as well as in private, giving expression to our beliefs in the written and spoken word, and in practical acts of service to the local community and to the nation."

The report noted that the Synod's decision will boost the case of four British Christians who are taking their cases of religious discrimination to the European Court of Human Rights in September.

Founder of the Christian Legal Centre, Andrea Minichiello Williams, commented on the Synod's decision; "For the past decade, our Parliament has moved away from Christian principles of law making which have served our nation so well. Modern law making is based on human rights theory espousing principles of equality and diversity. But there is no common agreement as to the source of the rights.

"If we cannot agree how rights arise or how they are conferred, it is difficult to agree what they should be. There is no common basis for a discussion about the way in which rights should be applied, in particular in relation to how or where precedence should be given when rights conflict. Moreover in a secular society of every political hue it is the religious rights that are crushed.

"As Lord Denning used to say 'Although, Christianity, law and morals can be separated, they are nevertheless, still very much dependent on one another. Without Christianity, there can be no morality, there can be no law.'"

Source: Gary McFarlane, Caroline Petrie – ChristianConcern.com