Former archbishop lambasts David Cameron
Government is aiding and abetting secularisation of UK and leaving Christians feeling persecuted, says Lord Carey
George Carey: 'This government is in danger of alienating a large minority who only a few years ago would have been considered pillars of society.' Photograph: Murdo Macleod for the Guardian
A former archbishop of Canterbury has attacked David Cameron for doing more than any other recent political leader to feed Christian anxieties that they are part of a persecuted minority.
Lord Carey said it was a bit rich to hear Mr Cameron tell religious leaders to face down aggressive secularisation when the coalition seemed to be aiding and abetting such practices.
In an article for the Daily Mail, he wrote: "I like David Cameron and believe he is genuinely sincere in his desire to make Britain a generous nation where we care for one another and where people of faith may exercise their beliefs fully.
"But it was a bit rich to hear that the prime minister has told religious leaders that they should 'stand up and oppose aggressive secularisation' when it seems that his government is aiding and abetting this aggression every step of the way.
"At his pre-Easter Downing Street reception for faith leaders, he said that he supported Christians' right to practise their faith. Yet many Christians doubt his sincerity. According to a new ComRes poll, more than two-thirds of Christians feel that they are part of a persecuted minority. Their fears may be exaggerated because few in the UK are actually persecuted, but the prime minister has done more than any other recent political leader to feed these anxieties.
"He seems to have forgotten, in spite of his oft-repeated support for the right of Christians to wear the cross, that lawyers acting for the coalition argued only months ago in the Strasbourg court that those sacked for wearing a cross against their employer's wishes should simply get another job."
Lord Carey said he was very suspicious that behind plans for gay marriage "there lurks an aggressive secularist and relativist approach towards an institution that has glued society".
He added: "The danger I believe that the government is courting with its approach both to marriage and religious freedom is the alienation of a large minority of people who only a few years ago would have been considered pillars of society."
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