{"id":9291,"date":"2012-03-12T12:09:08","date_gmt":"2012-03-12T19:09:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildhunt\/?p=9291"},"modified":"2012-03-12T12:11:50","modified_gmt":"2012-03-12T19:11:50","slug":"a-quick-note-on-prayer-in-britain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildhunt\/2012\/03\/a-quick-note-on-prayer-in-britain.html","title":{"rendered":"A Quick Note on Prayer in Britain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

This past Thursday the Washington Post reported on a story that\u2019s been causing no small amount of controversy in Britain<\/a>, even sparking comment from the Prime Minister and the Queen Herself. It centers on the small English town of Bideford<\/a>, and litigation over Christian prayers said as part of the official agenda during Town Council meetings. Here\u2019s how the Washington Post leads things off.<\/p>\n

\n
Bideford Council Offices<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cPerhaps the locals should have anticipated sparks on a town council stocked not only with a practicing pagan, a staunch atheist and an agnostic former stripper but also two evangelical Christians and a Methodist church organist. But few could have predicted that one small town\u2019s fight over the abolition of Christian prayers at public meetings would escalate into Britain\u2019s own culture wars.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Wow! That\u2019s quite a opening paragraph! A Pagan! An atheist! A stripper! What an interesting council, I\u2019d love to hear more about the dynamic at play at meetings. Sadly, we hear no more about these\u00a0councilors, and jump straight to the verdict<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Clive] Bone took the town to court \u2014 winning a ruling last month that appeared to set a legal precedent by saying government had no authority to compel citizens to hear prayer.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I think the stress should be on \u201cappeared\u201d here. Commentators have noted that this ruling isn\u2019t a clear win for either side<\/a>, and is already being appealed.<\/a> So while the National Secular Society is calling this a landmark ruling<\/a>, it is not clear if this will actually change church-state interactions throughout the country. More than one commentator has pointed out that this simply prevents putting prayer on the official agenda. A local council can still have all the prayer they want before official business begins. Further, the United Kingdom, unlike the United States, has an established church<\/a>, and religious freedoms are guaranteed by laws, not enshrined constitutionally<\/a>. So the waters are murkier regarding how to build a \u201cwall of\u00a0separation\u201d in England.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s get back to that lede. How can you invoke a Pagan politician, or a stripper for that matter, without actually naming them? After a bit of digging I found that the former stripper is Myrna Bushell<\/a>, who was essentially hounded out of office when her past came to light. However, I haven\u2019t been able to find anything regarding a Pagan council member, past or present. You\u2019d think the tabloids would be all over that, but my Google powers appear to not be up to the task. So, to all of my readers in the UK, if you know who this Bideford Pagan politician is, please drop me a line, or leave a comment, and let me know.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder the old regime I had to wait outside the room while everyone else was praying. This meant that it appeared I was being late or just plain rude to other people\u2019s religions as I walked across the floor afterwards.\u201d<\/em> \u2013\u00a0Muslim politician\u00a0Imran Khan, Conservative councillor on Reigate and Banstead Borough Council, BBC<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I think the presence of religious minorities on the Town Council (and other political bodies in England) is perhaps the strongest argument against enshrined Christian prayers on the agenda, one that points to the growing religious diversity in Britain. One study claims that the UK will no longer be a majority Christian country by 2030<\/a>, if so, does that mean disestablishment and a truly secular state are inevitable? I\u2019d love to hear what some non-Christian\u00a0politicians\u00a0think about the questions raised, including our anonymous Pagan.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This past Thursday the Washington Post reported on a story that\u2019s been causing no small amount of controversy in Britain, even sparking comment from the Prime Minister and the Queen Herself. It centers on the small English town of Bideford, and litigation over Christian prayers said as part of the official agenda during Town Council […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6],"tags":[3228,1348,1577,3640,1861,1878,2125,2537],"class_list":["post-9291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-paganism","category-religion","tag-bideford","tag-litigation","tag-national-secular-society","tag-paganism","tag-politics","tag-prayer","tag-separation-of-church-and-state","tag-uk"],"yoast_head":"\nA Quick Note on Prayer in Britain<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This past Thursday the Washington Post reported on a story that's been causing no small amount of controversy in Britain, even sparking comment from the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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