Christians should not let aggressive secularists and nervous public officials stop them speaking out on moral issues, says the Archbishop of Wales.
Speaking at a meeting of the Church in Wales’ Governing Body this week, Dr Barry Morgan said that since the 1960s moral debates had been pushed to the sidelines in politics.
“The growth of ethnic and religious diversity, political correctness, the rise of atheism, our absorption in our own internal politics as well as the prevailing political atmosphere have all conspired to still our voices,” he said.
“Now we need to start lifting them again”.
Dr Morgan dismissed the idea that people of other faiths are offended when Christians express views on moral issues.
“What we have to remember as well is that people of other faiths have no problems with Christians taking the lead in these matters”, he said.
“It is nervous public officials or aggressive secularists who have their problems.”
Dr Morgan also criticised the Welsh Assembly’s recent decision to allow sixth formers in Wales to opt out of school assemblies, which are required by law to include a daily act of broadly Christian worship.
He said the requirement was vital “to feed the minds and hearts of the 17 and 18 year olds who stand on the cusp of adult life and all the responsibilities it carries”.
He added: “We must help them encounter a world that is not a bland secular wasteland, but a place of rich spiritual diversity where faith plays a fundamental role in moulding and shaping our lives.”