Christian freedoms in the West are under attack from aggressive secularism, Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali has warned.
The Bishop said: “Aggressive secularism seeks to drive the Christian worldview from the public space” and warned that it is “deeply embedded in our society”.
He made the comments in an interview with Trans World Radio while speaking about his book ‘Triple Jeopardy for the West’.
Secularism
As an example, he highlighted the debate on assisted suicide saying: “the point of departure was the kind of radical view on human autonomy the secularists promote”, a worldview which is “quite contrary to Christian belief about human dignity because we’re made in God’s image”.
The Bishop said he was “encouraged” by faith minister Eric Pickles’ comments last year about the “intolerance of aggressive secularism”.
He defended the value of the Christian faith in helping make “key decisions about the dignity of the human person” and “the value of freedom and its limits”.
Attack
Without the Bible, the Bishop continued, politicians and legislators would be unable to make decisions that are “morally and spiritually satisfying and enduring”.
Bishop Nazir-Ali also warned that there has been an “open attack on the family” over the last 50 years.
He said: “the abortion debate is governed by questions about choice rather than our obligations to our fellow human beings”.
Families
In the past the Bishop has not shied away from speaking out on issues he has strong views about.
In August, he commented on the role of fatherhood in the wake of plans for a national sperm bank due to be opened this month.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday he said: “Research shows that children are best brought up in families where a mum and dad are present.
Security
“In particular, boys need closeness to their fathers for a sense of security and in developing their own identity”.
He argued that as the bank will allow women to choose from profiles of donors, it will raise “the spectre of ‘designer babies’, born to the parents’ specifications”.