Tuesday, 30 August 2011 10:24
“As we reflect on the sobering lessons of atheist extremism of the 20th century, let us never forget how the exclusion of God, religion and virtue from public life leads ultimately to a truncated version of man and society.”
Pope Benedict XVI, Financial Times, September 16 2010
“Europe is losing the very thing that once made it great, while China the world’s fastest-growing economy, is discovering it… What has China realised that the West is rapidly forgetting? That a civilisation is as strong as its faith. As a culture grows old and tired, as people borrow more and save less, as they value present pleasures over future growth, so they begin to lose the beliefs and practices that made their society successful in the first place.”
Commonwealth Chief Rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks, “China is reversing the decline and fall
of Christianity”, article at office of the Chief Rabbi website
“Secularists, such as Richard Dawkins, who try to rubbish religion are encouraging intolerance.”
Archbishop Vincent Nichols, [Catholic] Archbishop of Westminster,
The Telegraph, 21 May 2009
“One of the paradoxes of recent times has been the increasing secularisation of society and attempts to marginalise religion alongside an increasing interest in spiritual issues and in the social and cultural implications of religious faith.”
Bishop of Birmingham, Rt. Revd. David Urquhart and Bishop of Derby,
Right Reverend Dr Alastair Redfern, Challenges for the New Quinquennium, February 2011
“A virtual Who’s Who of ‘Enlightenment’ figures fully accepted slavery ... It was not philosophers or secular intellectuals who assembled the moral indictment of slavery, but the very people they held in such contempt: men and women having intense Christian faith, who opposed slavery because it was sin ... The larger point is that abolitionists, whether popes or evangelists, spoke almost exclusively in the language of Christian faith ... Although many Southern clergy [in America] proposed theological defences of slavery, pro-slavery rhetoric was overwhelmingly secular – references were made to ‘liberty’ and ‘states’ rights’, not too ‘sin’ or ‘salvation’.”
Rodney Stark, For the Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations,
Science, Witch-hunts, and the End of Slavery, 2003
“Religion has killed its thousands and secularisation its tens of thousands.”
Bishop N.T. Wright, interview on trevinwax.com, 19 November 2007
“This aggressive brand of secularism is trying to undermine the cultural traditions of this country by using flawed arguments about ‘multi-faith, multi-culturalism’ whilst at the same time trying to negate faith groups all together. The aggressive secularists pervert and abuse any notion of diversity for the sake of promoting a narrow agenda.”
Archbishop John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, Christian Today, 9 December 2006
“An absence of faith invites an inward focus and undermines human relationships. This philosophy emphasises the individual and individual rights, it invites us to invent our own lives and it undervalues commitment to other human beings. It is a recipe for loneliness and the path to a very lonely old age.”
Sydney Anglican Archbishop Peter Jensen, Sydney Morning Herald, 4 April 2010
“The Christian faith is in danger of being stealthily and subtly brushed aside. This attempt to air-brush the Christian faith out of the picture is especially obvious as Christmas approaches.”
Former Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, Huffington Post, 1 December 2010
“…positivistic knowledge and reasoning cannot … provide anything that is normative in value or moral judgement. A society which limits itself – and its education – to a positivistic understanding of reason will find itself unable to determine shared moral principles and values. Such a society will lack cohesion.”
Most Rev Vincent Nichols, [Catholic] Archbishop of Birmingham, Christian Today,31 March 2009
“Faith is never a solitary activity nor can it be simply private. Some today propose that faith and reason are crudely opposed, with the fervour of faith replacing good reason. This reduction of both faith and reason inhibits not only our search for truth but also the possibility of real dialogue.”
The Most Rev Vincent Nichols, [Catholic] Archbishop of Birmingham, The Telegraph, 21 May 2009
“The irony is that this secular utopianism is based on a belief in an unstoppable human ability to make a better world, while at the same time it believes that we have the right to kill unborn children and surplus old people, and to play games with the humanity of those in between.”
Bishop N.T. Wright, BBC News, 24 March 2008
“Multiculturalism is part of the wider European phenomenon of moral relativism, a doctrine that became influential as a response to the Holocaust. It was argued that taking a stand on moral issues was a sign of an ‘authoritarian personality’. Moral judgment was seen as the first step down the road to fanaticism. But moral relativism is the deathknell of a civilisation. In a relativist culture, there is no moral consensus, only a clash of conflicting views in which the loudest voice wins.”
Commonwealth Chief Rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks, “Having pride in Britain protects all cultures”,
article at office of the Chief Rabbi website
.....................
A printable version of this document can be downloaded by clicking on the link below.
Pope Benedict XVI, Financial Times, September 16 2010
“Europe is losing the very thing that once made it great, while China the world’s fastest-growing economy, is discovering it… What has China realised that the West is rapidly forgetting? That a civilisation is as strong as its faith. As a culture grows old and tired, as people borrow more and save less, as they value present pleasures over future growth, so they begin to lose the beliefs and practices that made their society successful in the first place.”
Commonwealth Chief Rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks, “China is reversing the decline and fall
of Christianity”, article at office of the Chief Rabbi website
“Secularists, such as Richard Dawkins, who try to rubbish religion are encouraging intolerance.”
Archbishop Vincent Nichols, [Catholic] Archbishop of Westminster,
The Telegraph, 21 May 2009
“One of the paradoxes of recent times has been the increasing secularisation of society and attempts to marginalise religion alongside an increasing interest in spiritual issues and in the social and cultural implications of religious faith.”
Bishop of Birmingham, Rt. Revd. David Urquhart and Bishop of Derby,
Right Reverend Dr Alastair Redfern, Challenges for the New Quinquennium, February 2011
“A virtual Who’s Who of ‘Enlightenment’ figures fully accepted slavery ... It was not philosophers or secular intellectuals who assembled the moral indictment of slavery, but the very people they held in such contempt: men and women having intense Christian faith, who opposed slavery because it was sin ... The larger point is that abolitionists, whether popes or evangelists, spoke almost exclusively in the language of Christian faith ... Although many Southern clergy [in America] proposed theological defences of slavery, pro-slavery rhetoric was overwhelmingly secular – references were made to ‘liberty’ and ‘states’ rights’, not too ‘sin’ or ‘salvation’.”
Rodney Stark, For the Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations,
Science, Witch-hunts, and the End of Slavery, 2003
“Religion has killed its thousands and secularisation its tens of thousands.”
Bishop N.T. Wright, interview on trevinwax.com, 19 November 2007
“This aggressive brand of secularism is trying to undermine the cultural traditions of this country by using flawed arguments about ‘multi-faith, multi-culturalism’ whilst at the same time trying to negate faith groups all together. The aggressive secularists pervert and abuse any notion of diversity for the sake of promoting a narrow agenda.”
Archbishop John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, Christian Today, 9 December 2006
“An absence of faith invites an inward focus and undermines human relationships. This philosophy emphasises the individual and individual rights, it invites us to invent our own lives and it undervalues commitment to other human beings. It is a recipe for loneliness and the path to a very lonely old age.”
Sydney Anglican Archbishop Peter Jensen, Sydney Morning Herald, 4 April 2010
“The Christian faith is in danger of being stealthily and subtly brushed aside. This attempt to air-brush the Christian faith out of the picture is especially obvious as Christmas approaches.”
Former Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, Huffington Post, 1 December 2010
“…positivistic knowledge and reasoning cannot … provide anything that is normative in value or moral judgement. A society which limits itself – and its education – to a positivistic understanding of reason will find itself unable to determine shared moral principles and values. Such a society will lack cohesion.”
Most Rev Vincent Nichols, [Catholic] Archbishop of Birmingham, Christian Today,31 March 2009
“Faith is never a solitary activity nor can it be simply private. Some today propose that faith and reason are crudely opposed, with the fervour of faith replacing good reason. This reduction of both faith and reason inhibits not only our search for truth but also the possibility of real dialogue.”
The Most Rev Vincent Nichols, [Catholic] Archbishop of Birmingham, The Telegraph, 21 May 2009
“The irony is that this secular utopianism is based on a belief in an unstoppable human ability to make a better world, while at the same time it believes that we have the right to kill unborn children and surplus old people, and to play games with the humanity of those in between.”
Bishop N.T. Wright, BBC News, 24 March 2008
“Multiculturalism is part of the wider European phenomenon of moral relativism, a doctrine that became influential as a response to the Holocaust. It was argued that taking a stand on moral issues was a sign of an ‘authoritarian personality’. Moral judgment was seen as the first step down the road to fanaticism. But moral relativism is the deathknell of a civilisation. In a relativist culture, there is no moral consensus, only a clash of conflicting views in which the loudest voice wins.”
Commonwealth Chief Rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks, “Having pride in Britain protects all cultures”,
article at office of the Chief Rabbi website
.....................
A printable version of this document can be downloaded by clicking on the link below.
| File | File size |
|---|---|
 Religious leaders' comments on secularisation | 220 Kb |
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