David Cameron speaking at a national parliamentary prayer breakfast has praised the role of Christianity in society, but an Oxford professor says many Christians feel marginalised.
John Lennox, an Oxford University maths professor pointed to a “vocal minority of influential minds” which he says mocks and ridicules the faith.
He told MPs and other prominent Christians at the prayer breakfast: “We are in danger of forgetting the contribution of Christianity to the moral foundations of our society.”
Ridicule
He said: “Although we no longer burn the Bible in this country, a vocal minority of influential minds mock and ridicule it”.
The Prime Minister told delegates at the prayer breakfast, held in Westminster Hall: “It is encouraging that Christianity still plays such a vital role in our national life.
He said: “It has had an immense historic influence in the development of our culture and institutions and it motivates British people to wonderful acts of service and self-sacrifice.
Challenges
“We are a country with a Christian heritage and we should not be afraid to say so. There are many challenges ahead and I believe the Christian faith will rise to these challenges, as it has done in the past, and continue to nourish and strengthen our country.”
In April, former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey, said Christians who fear being marginalised are having their anxieties fed by David Cameron.
Writing in a national newspaper, Lord Carey warned that the Government was “aiding and abetting” a hostile secularisation “every step of the way”.