UK one of world's least religious countries

a reply to: Subaeruginosa

Well why did the British government even go along with it then? If it wasn't about religion,

Unfortunately the British government and the British people are two completely separate things - despite appearances the former is not representative of the latter.

I'm kinda confused.

Join the rest of us mate.

Us Aussies had no choice, we don't even have any nuclear weapons. We need the Americans to be looking out for us, it's not like the pomes are gonna look after us if it all hit's the fan one day.

I assure you, the British people would demand that the UK support Australia in the unlikely event it faced a threat from a foreign nation etc - we know exactly the debt of honour we owe Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

Yeah I know, I'm being a smart arse now. Just a little harmless Aussie humor, is all.

Aussies and Kiwi's....the only nationalities who tend to get the British self-deprecating and piss taking sense of humour.

As for Tony Blair; he was told to keep his alleged religious fervour private as openly religious people tend to be viewed as cranks and not to be trusted.
He was also told he would have to wait until his term as Prime Minister was finished before he could convert to Roman Catholicism.
Tony Blair based his whole Premiership on lies and mis-direction....a truly odious individual.

Religion tends to be viewed as very much a private thing here in the UK.
People who openly express their religious views are thought to be quite strange and somewhat quirky by many.

But it is worth noting that British society and most of its laws and customs are based on Christian values....and people wish for it to remain that way.

England is at least as religious as the number of Muslims in the UK.
All those splendid Cathedrals were built by superstitious fools then?
Would you have a Magna Charta without religion?
We all owe more to our religious heritage than we realize.

originally posted by: Asktheanimals

All those splendid Cathedrals were built by superstitious fools then?

Nope, they were built by the foolishly superstitious.
...and religion was a controlling force in the days our Cathedrals were built.

a reply to: grainofsand

I think that's sad. It really is. They should have been thankful that someone with your experience in the field was volunteering.

a reply to: SensiblyReckless
My emotion is sadness whenever I think about it.

*Edit*
The foolishness above all in my mind is it didn't matter which conflicting "recognised religion" referred me, just that it was a faith.
My exceptional and absolutely relevant secular references were disregarded because I could not present a referral from a recognised faith group.

a reply to: grainofsand

You get my respect for volunteering. A selfless act is a rare thing these days.

I would say their loss, but it's the people you could have helped who really lost out.

a reply to: SensiblyReckless
Ah no respect deserved, I just react to my experiences as we all do.
I left home at 16 and spent nearly 6 months sleeping the streets before building my life back again, and I'll never forget the key people who helped me during those dark times.
If I don't do the same nice stuff to people when I'm aware of a situation I can help then that would make me a right #. lol
...and I don't need fear of a wrathful god to make me be nice to people, in fact I'd meet the Abrahamic God in a face to face and argue our respective life choices morally.

originally posted by: TechniXcality
a reply to: crazyewok

I wanted to say I agree with ya on the whole religious thing, that typically those folks are what I call red faced zealots. But with,that said it just needs to be reminded , as they say repetition strengthens and confirms. America is better.

Only in war and prison population

a reply to: grainofsand

You're cool in my eyes matey.

I find myself feeling cynical a lot, but when I read something like you just wrote it makes me smile. It's really nice to see some empathy from people. It gives me hope that we're not doomed with people like you out there.

You do deserve my respect, you've earned it. And trust me, it's hard to get on my list of respected people.

a reply to: AngryCymraeg

I am not surprised by this but I think I have a slight window into why for some of us at least.

The UK and especially England is a weird country - I know I live here - we have a huge megalithic past which our schools make no link to and our institutions seem to want to get the tourist money from but deny our psychical attachment to. To make this situation even more insulting on the quiet, as being British/English we are born to keep a stiff upper lip ha ha! for whose benefit should one ask, because its certainly for the ordinary English national with a long ancestral past here?

However, for years, apart from the black hole of our past here, even being English was denied as any official forms told us we could be scottish, welsh N.Irish or British but not English and our strong links with the past didn't officially exist. When it comes to religion, we just have the second desert religion stuffed down our throats, built on our original temples, holy places - like the beautiful henge I live close to, Knowlton Rings which has been defaced by having a small christain church stuffed into the centre of it. The atmospheric feeling fortunately hasn't been lost but the desperate efforts of the men in frocks for us all to pay into their coffers and buy our seats in heaven they wanted to flog the gullible, has smashed our past and for precious good reason looking at the untouched scrolls that have come out from Nag Hammadi teachings rammed down people's throats that don't appear to concur with what Christ taught.

I am not surprised that many people don't bother with religion and its bullying and fear mongering as probably unconsciously, many people with their ancestral heritage on this land have no interest whatsoever in religion because as time has progressed the truth about its origins and purpose plus the bunk of much of the desert religions' teachings and claims, which only blind faith would swallow, to say nothing of their persecutions and mass murders, are quite nasty when compared to the examples of the majesty and peace in some of our fantastic megalithic sites, which 'mother church as it calls itself - which is an insult to women everywhere as the church hates women, has ensured we have been made paupers from our past which was once a very rich heritage and made with much thought and probably real love. Perhaps there is a deep resentment underlying religion that many don't want to con front because its well deserved.

originally posted by: AngryCymraeg
A new survey has indicated that the UK is one of the least religious countries in the world - here. Speaking as a Brit I find the results interesting and frankly rather reassuring. We don't really do religion here - or at least not in public.

I lived in the UK for a few years, and I can attest to this. In fact, it was one of the things I absolutely loved about the U.K.: the lack of religion. And even the religious people, for the most part, felt their religion or spiritual life was a personal thing. But the best part was the complete absence of religion in civics, politics, and policy. People actually based policy and political decisions on on things like science, humanism, basic human rights, history......you know.....evidence based things? My only regret there was that I could not vote in elections there, as I was not a citizen. (Had I ever been able to legally vote there, however, I would have registered with the Monster Raving Looney Party. I am currently only a trans-atlantic supporter).

One of my most fascinating memories was stumbling across a former C.O.E church that had been sold to private developers and turned into a nightclub/rave venue. (When I first saw it, I thought it was a real church doing a real church service, and the Church of England was about to gain a new convert, lol). My ex-husband explained that the C.O.E, because of the massive decline in church membership and attendance over the past 50 years, has sold off a lot of it's old holding and properties in places where it was non-existent. The Catholics are even fewer, and other Christian denominations are even less still. And then you have other religions, like Hinduism and Islam, that are only sustained through immigration, that also show decline with the more generations are born and raised in the U.K.

I really do miss that godless little island, especially whenever Ted Cruz opens his mouth to redefine crazy in novel new ways, or get treated to the latest round of Christians vs Gays in whatever district court has the misfortune of wasting tax dollars on whatever picayune issue they are fighting over.

originally posted by: crazyewok

originally posted by: DAZ21
What do you expect, when we see what religion brings the world to?

I say good riddance!

We see the wack jobs in US congress and its easy to see why we want none of that

Lmfao because England is doing so well? You have Sharia patrols in your capital city. A man who openly, actively and has a significant backing driving your country to become Sharia controlled, have a violent crime rate higher than that of the US, and have religious (aka Muslim Terrorists) beheading your soldiers in your streets unopposed.

England may have a smaller religiously inclined population, but a much bigger portion of them are Muslims who are rotting your country from the inside out and your blind hatred of Christians based upon the Leftist Muslim apologists is going to be the end of you. Have fun with it.

a reply to: chuck258

Yeah, I wouldn't believe the hype from fox news. Honestly, a lot of British MSM can be just as bad at times, they love a sensationalist story.

btw, where did you get those crime statistics from? Because even though the crime rate in the US doesn't seem to be as bad as the MSM would like to claim, I'm pretty sure its still worse than the UK. Not to mention the US has like 10,000 gun related murders a year, while England has less than 50.

Gun Homicides by country

a reply to: chuck258

Ah, I see that someone has been watching Fox News. There are no Sharia patrols, and if anyone did start one then the police would tell them to bugger off home and stop annoying people. The thugs that beheaded Lee Rigby were shot but not killed and have been locked up for a very long time indeed. The UK does not have a violent crime rate higher than the USA - that's an internet myth as it's very hard to gauge true levels.

a reply to: chuck258

Lmfao because England is doing so well?

What has how 'well England is doing' got to do with the thread topic?

And compared to many, if not most, the UK - it's not just England! - is doing rather well.
Should it be doing better - too damn right should it....but again, that's not the topic under discussion.

You have Sharia patrols in your capital city.

I think other people have addressed this.
If there was any attempt to conduct 'Sharia patrols' in 99% of this country they would be immediately stopped, if not by the local population then they would be by the police.

There have been one or two attempts to establish 'no-go zones'.....they've been dealt with swiftly.

A man who openly, actively and has a significant backing driving your country to become Sharia controlled,

Yes, there are some truly hateful people here, same as everywhere....it's not something that's exclusive to the UK.

Do we have a problem with increasing radicalisation within our Muslim communities?
Yes, it would seem we do - but yet again, that's not the topic under discussion.

.....have a violent crime rate higher than that of the US,

Err, no we don't.
Please show me the facts and figures.

England ....

Its the UK, of which England is only one constituent part - its really very simple!

.....may have a smaller religiously inclined population,

Undoubtedly.

.... but a much bigger portion of them are Muslims

Yes, so what?

......who are rotting your country from the inside out ....

Yes, I believe they are a problem - but not the topic under discussion - and we are trying to address that problem rather than burying our head in the sand and ignoring the problem that fundamentalists, of all religious persuasions, cause us.

.....and your blind hatred of Christians....

Please show me where there is evidence of 'blind hatred of Christians' either in this thread or in the UK in general.

.... based upon the Leftist Muslim apologists....

I despise the PC Brigade as much as I despise apologists.
None of them have been evident in this thread.

It seems to me that your constant referrals to Muslims etc is nothing more than deflection away from the undue influence religion has in your own country.
Most of us here in the UK view the lack of religious influence in politics and everyday life as a good thing - you obviously don't.
So why not explain why you see things your way?

is going to be the end of you.

Britain and its people have been around for a very long time.
Never under-estimate us.
We are a resilient and resourceful breed.
If there is a problem then it will be dealt with, one way or another, when the time is right.....just as we always have done.
We'll be around for a while longer yet, of that I can assure you.

Have fun with it.

We always have fun....we are a fun loving people as well.

originally posted by: chuck258

originally posted by: crazyewok

originally posted by: DAZ21
What do you expect, when we see what religion brings the world to?

I say good riddance!

We see the wack jobs in US congress and its easy to see why we want none of that

Lmfao because England is doing so well? You have Sharia patrols in your capital city. A man who openly, actively and has a significant backing driving your country to become Sharia controlled, have a violent crime rate higher than that of the US, and have religious (aka Muslim Terrorists) beheading your soldiers in your streets unopposed.

England may have a smaller religiously inclined population, but a much bigger portion of them are Muslims who are rotting your country from the inside out and your blind hatred of Christians based upon the Leftist Muslim apologists is going to be the end of you. Have fun with it.

Here is a tip, lay off the fox news its rotting your brain.

a reply to: Shiloh7

Great post.

I've got to admit, I feel more of a connection with our pre-Christian past than I do with our Christian heritage.

Its a shame the National Curriculum doesn't place much emphasis or importance in pre-Roman British history.

As a brit i can confirm,its a very rare occurrence that i meet someone who actively supports christianity,its strange because we get our kids christened,we have weddings in the church and read the prayers and say the vows etc,some people say they are christian but they aren't really active christians its mostly out of tradition.

Growing up anyone who took religion too seriously was thought of as a weirdo or fanatic,we still call them bible bashers etc

Muslims are a different story im mostly talking about christianity in the UK,im certainly glad its not like the USA

Oops, slight error in posting there.

Right - the last time I was in a church for a service was when I was in the USA about 5 years ago, when we went to my adopted step-son's church. Seeing the drum kit by the side of the altar was the first surprise. Being asked to pray to heal the people who came forwards to the front of the church was the next surprise. And then there was the little matter of the sermon, which was carried out by a lay preacher who seemed to be saying that women should keep quiet and obey orders from men. I nearly walked out in a blind rage from that last bit.

I think a good deal of the anti islam sentiment might stem from the fact that Muslims are so public about it.
As others have said, in the UK your religion is your business and everyone prefers it to stay that way.
trailing your religion about like a cloak, whatever religion it is, just gets on everyone's nerves.