I am not surprised that many Christians believe there is an aggressive secularist agenda being worked out in the UK today. There are a number of high profile commentators and media figures who routinely criticise the place religious perspectives are given in our society. The National Secular Society, a group which has particularly targeted chaplaincy in the NHS, and the British Humanist Association seem to be working hard to marginalise the contribution religious voices can offer in the public arena.

Militant humanists argue that Britain is now a secular nation and that religious groups receive special privileges they do not merit. They frequently portray religious views as irrational or fundamentalist and the cause of endless bloody conflict. These ideas are key elements of the propaganda of the secularists and they need to be challenged as more rooted in prejudice than reality.

    According to Nigel Biggar, Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at Oxford University, one of the principal difficulties for secularists is the plain fact that religious belief is not going away. The majority of the population may not attend church regularly but 1 in 10 do and a quarter attend at least once a year. More significantly the proportion claiming allegiance to Christianity remains high at over 50%. Even if it is difficult to fully establish what this means in terms of faith and practice, Professor Biggar argues it is impossible to say our society is non-religious.

    The UK is not so much secular as plural, and surveys such as that by Tearfund in 2006 clearly show that even ‘non-religious’ people think that religious belief is a good thing. Our society is not one where there is hostility or antipathy to belief in God.

    In this respect, one previously notable secularist has been softening his views. Since October 2001, the German philosopher and intellectual Jurgen Habermas has begun to speak of the contribution religious perspectives make to society. In the aftermath of 9/11 Professor Habermas has distinguished between fundamentalist and ‘reasonable’ religious conviction. For him a respectful approach to religious faith is needed to restore secular society; it provides the language needed to articulate what humans instinctively value and cannot always express. Secular language can speak of human rights but theological language helps us appreciate human dignity.

    This reference to language is critical not only for content as for manner. The tone and volume coming from militant secularists has rarely matched the liberalism and tolerance they claim to espouse. There is little evidence of generosity of spirit or openness to hearing and valuing a different perspective. Yet this can be equally true of Christians and the Church. I have regularly been disappointed and embarrassed by how we have conducted ourselves in arguments over matters we feel passionate about. Too often the manner of our speaking has not commended our Lord Jesus or the gospel.

    As Nigel Biggar stresses, in presenting Christ’s truth in society we need to ensure it is appropriately presented, being marked by qualities such as humility, gentleness, perseverance, generosity and forgiveness - as well as courage. We need to do our best to ensure it befits the ‘body language’ of Christ.