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| Britain is a 'post-Christian' country says former Archbishop | Britain is a 'post-Christian' country says former Archbishop |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Britain is now a "post-Christian" country, the former Archbishop of Canterbury has said. | Britain is now a "post-Christian" country, the former Archbishop of Canterbury has said. |
| Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph, Rowan Williams said Britain was not a nation of believers and that the era of widespread worship was over. | Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph, Rowan Williams said Britain was not a nation of believers and that the era of widespread worship was over. |
| It comes after Prime Minister David Cameron said people in Britain should be confident of its status as "a Christian country". | It comes after Prime Minister David Cameron said people in Britain should be confident of its status as "a Christian country". |
| Deputy PM Nick Clegg said the Church and state should be separated. | Deputy PM Nick Clegg said the Church and state should be separated. |
| Writing in the Church Times, Mr Cameron said Christians made a difference to people's lives and should be more evangelical about it. | Writing in the Church Times, Mr Cameron said Christians made a difference to people's lives and should be more evangelical about it. |
| This prompted a group of 50 public figures to write a letter insisting that the UK was "a non-religious" and "plural" society and that to claim otherwise fostered "alienation and division". | This prompted a group of 50 public figures to write a letter insisting that the UK was "a non-religious" and "plural" society and that to claim otherwise fostered "alienation and division". |
| 'Committed believers' | 'Committed believers' |
| Lord Williams, who retired from being the leader of the Church of England in 2012, said: "If I say that this is a post-Christian nation, that doesn't mean necessarily non-Christian. It means the cultural memory is still quite strongly Christian." | |
| He added: "But [Britain is] post-Christian in the sense that habitual practice for most of the population is not taken for granted." | He added: "But [Britain is] post-Christian in the sense that habitual practice for most of the population is not taken for granted." |
| "A Christian nation can sound like a nation of committed believers and we are not that. Equally, we are not a nation of dedicated secularists. | "A Christian nation can sound like a nation of committed believers and we are not that. Equally, we are not a nation of dedicated secularists. |
| "It's a matter of defining terms. A Christian country as a nation of believers? No. | "It's a matter of defining terms. A Christian country as a nation of believers? No. |
| "A Christian country in the sense of still being very much saturated by this vision of the world and shaped by it? Yes." | "A Christian country in the sense of still being very much saturated by this vision of the world and shaped by it? Yes." |
| The current Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, has supported Mr Cameron. | The current Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, has supported Mr Cameron. |
| On his blog he wrote it was a "historical fact (perhaps unwelcome to some, but true)" that UK law, ethics and culture were based on its teachings and traditions. | On his blog he wrote it was a "historical fact (perhaps unwelcome to some, but true)" that UK law, ethics and culture were based on its teachings and traditions. |