Veritas said:
Although religious faith is constantly under attack in the US, it's still a rather religious country. I'm wondering though, what it feels like for you British folks to live in a country that is non- and even anti-religious. Europe as a whole has become quite Godless and I find that troubling. Years ago I lived in Austria and the only people that went to church were tourists and old people. I felt out of place being so young at the time. How did Europe get this way? And how do people handle crisis and trouble in their lives without a faith background?
Its quite bad. Its not so much that British society is actively anti-God, its more that they are quite ignorant of Him. Ignorance of Christianity is more a problem than planned opposition to it. So many young people dont know a thing about Jesus, the Bible or Europes Christian heritage. Something like 50% of Brits didnt know that Easter was to do with the death and ressurection of Jesus. In fact in one study a teenage girl thought Easter was something to do with hanging rabbits on a cross. There is no Christian foundation to British society any more and this is why I believe there has been a moral decline. There is a lot of emptiness in peoples lives and the New Age has been trying to step in and fill the gap. People have a lot of misconceptions about Christianity, Christians and the church. Born again Christians have been marginalised in peoples minds as another weird group like trainspotters and Trekkies. The common perception of the church is one of 'boring elderly vicars preaching in ancient church buildings to small groups of old women who sing dull hymns and knit cardingans'. We are not taken seriously by many people. The media takes more of an interest in Islam and the fashions of David Beckham than it does in Britains historic faith. In fact they probably mention Davids name more often than they mention Jesus Christ.
A fifty years ago there would have been a large amount of people who had heard the gospel and chosen to stubbornly reject it. But in the 21st century so few people have been presented with the true gospel that they havent had the opportunity to reject it. Many people either dont know that theres a gospel or are confused about what the gospel is. Although Britain is certainly secular it isnt that atheistic when compared to other western countries like France. The faith of the typical Brit could best be described as 'some vague belief in God'.
However despite the many problems there are some good things about the UK and I see some hope for British Christianity. Organised opposition to Christianity is not as militant as it is in countries like France. There is religious freedom in the UK and few people are openly hostile towards us. People tend to tolerate us, even though this is often done by ignoring us.
There is a notable rise in some of the more contemporary evangelical churches. A small handful of churches are growing, whilst many of the older and more traditional denominations are struggling.
Although many churches are mediorce, there are some real gems too.
Although I dislike the stronghold that liberal theology has on the church, we have benefited in many ways from having a more liberal mindset than the US Bible-belt. British Christians are very charitable and get involved in social issues. Church-goers are very compassionate over here. Virtues such as love, understanding and respect for people who are different from us are key messages preached and lived by the church. Of course this has been twisted to become politically correct overtolerance and the condoning of sin, but this is probably better than the bigoted zealotry of people such as Fred Phelps. Christian extremism is a rarity, although it would help for the UK church to become a bit more radical. We are also very good at explaining and reasoning our beliefs, although some have taken to comprimising the Bible in order to do this.
There is also a strong presence of black Christians in the UK. Black people tend to be very religious and it is estimated that they make up to half of the church going numbers in London. The black Christian community has had a largely positive effect on the UK church.
There is also the phenomenal success of the Alpha course which was birthed in the Church of England. I also believe that a secular government actually suits the gospel better than a religious state would. Christianity works better when it is freed from the hands of corrupt governments. I think that Britains welfare state and human rights laws make it a more humane country than the US. I believe that social democracy is far more Christian than the right-wing laisz-faire Bush administration that so many US evangelicals strongly support.
America, or at least the South, is far too religious for my liking. The US is too much the other way. The church in the UK and the church in the US seem to represent the two opposite extremes of Christianity. Whilst British Christianity tends to be humanistic, liberal, ineffective and too polite; American Christianity is catogrised as being judgemental, legalistic, brash and loud! I hate the way that Gods name is used to justify immoral foreign policies and to oppress people. I find all these pro-lifers who support the death penalty to be hypocrical. I think I prefer having my country run by agnostic humanists than by religious Pharisees.
(please note: I love America and Americans. I just have issues with the US like I have issues with the UK)
