The prime minister has announced that he is ‘evangelical’ about his Christian faith. Ahead of Easter, David Cameron told a special reception at Downing Street, ‘It is the case that Christians are now the most persecuted religion around the world. We should stand up against persecution of Christians and other faith groups wherever and whenever we can.’ He's also written for The Church Times this week about his faith, so we think can assume he's trying to make a point.
But why should any of us care what David Cameron chooses to do with his Sundays? In fact, why's it news at all? We explain...
**1. People are funny about the word ‘evangelical’ **
To a lot of people this conjures up images of travelling preachers of the Baptist south of America, the sorts who speak in tongues and say that they have healing powers. Because they consider themselves ‘evangelicals’. At the base of it, the word means that there is a firm belief in the Bible and its edicts. We assume Cameron was using the term in the latter sense of the word, but it will certainly have been carefully chosen for a reason.
2. Tony Blair was also very religious but he waited to say so
Tony Blair ‘came out’ as Catholic, but only after leaving office – he put off conversion until after his resignation (Britain has never had a Catholic prime minister). He's also revealed that he 'prayed' on his decision to send troops into Iraq – a statement that was met with much derision. This certainly isn't an issue with Protestant Cameron, but may lead to suspicion that there's a religious influence in his future policymaking.
3. This could simply be a way of getting religious people onside
A lot of Christian groups and Christian MPs were disappointed with David Cameron for pushing through with gay marriage legislation. Pundits have suggested that his new announcement could be a ploy to get them back on side.
4. Separation between Church and State is a key element of the British political system
Ever since Oliver Cromwell’s revolution, it’s been agreed in law that the church and the state are two separate entities. Any prime minister talking about their faith so openly (and so suddenly) raises is bound to revisit this debate.
5. A lot of the Christian values he speaks of are simple issues of morality
He admitted in his article for The Church Times, ‘Crucially, the Christian values of responsibility, hard work, charity, compassion, humility, and love are shared by people of every faith and none – and we should be confident in standing up to defend them.’ So why say he’s Christian, then? Why not say, 'I'm a nice person'?
6. Saying ‘Jesus invented the Big Society 2,000 years ago. I just want to see more of it’ is a bit crass
But then again, he did feed the 5,000 too, so maybe Jesus invented food banks too. Or... Is that not quite the message you want to get across, DC? Also, stop trying to make Big Society happen.
Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophwilkinson
Picture: Getty
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.