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Thursday 23 May 2019

Church in Wales takes a back seat


Three faiths and more                                                                     Source: BBC


A tweet from the Church in Wales contributor to the BBC documentary series Young, Welsh, & Pretty Religious, no doubt forgetting that pride is one of the seven deadly sins: "I'm proud to have had the opportunity to share a platform with @SaharAlFaifi in the making of #YoungWelshAndPrettyReligious. #MoreInCommon"

Sahar Al-Faifi responded with: "I am honoured to share it with you too father Ross ... God bless you :)". That would be her god not his. Job done.

Not to be outdone @LeanneWood for Plaid Cymru "congratulated the young Welsh people featured in the @BBCOne  programme #YoungWelshAndPrettyReligious - in particular work of anti-Islamophobia activist @SaharAlFaifi."
Perhaps with an eye on voting intentions Plaid Cymru "adopted @RunnymedeTrust definition of Islamophobia and want to see people of colour and religion that face 'daily abuse' protected. As if to prove the point, in the first episode of the documentary the victim card is played but only at face value. There is more to follow in episode 2, hopefully with hard facts rather than opinion.

The UK government rejects racial definition of 'Islamophobia' , a catch all invention designed to ensure that Islam has protection not enjoyed by other beliefs but the protection campaign continues.

Unfortunately for him his pride earned the Church in Wales curate only a bit part in the first episode but he was up against Krishnas, pagans, Jews and Muslims, an anti anti-Islamophobia campaigner and a fashion designer for Muslim women's clothing. Evangelical Christians had a better showing due to their increasing numbers. 

The series introduction explains that three quarters of the 1,000,000 under 30's in Wales are not religious. Since the year 2000 religious belief has halved but as some beliefs are plummeting others are rising, doubling, trebling their following. 

"Since the millennium the number of Muslims has doubled to over 50,000 and is the fastest growing religion in Wales. [The average adult Sunday attendance in 2017 was 27,359.] In this century Muslim and Hindu numbers have risen in Wales but Christian numbers have plummeted. Out of a population of 3,000,000 people less than 1% regularly attend Church and if the current decline continues Christians will be a minority in Wales by 2050." 

In the next episode a Hare Krishna monk pays a visit to his parents, we meet bisexual Christian Will and Sahar "faces religious intolerance head on".  I can hardly wait.

7 comments:

  1. Perhaps readers of this blog might be interested in reading the words of the Archbishop of Irbil in Iraq. What is happening to our brothers and sisters there is heartrending. The link is https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-48333923 I should warn you that he is not very complimentary of religious leaders in this country accusing them of being too concerned with "political correctness". I don't know where he has got that idea from. Perhaps the Bench here in Wales sent him a recent copy of Highlights!
    Seymour

    ReplyDelete
  2. You have been warned!23 May 2019 at 13:43

    It is not merely Christians facing persecution.
    Everyone and everything non-Islamic is facing persecution by the cult that is a cancer on humanity that, if it succeeds, will send us all back to the dark ages.
    The berk of an archbishop won't believe it even when he's forced to pay an Islamic tax to continue to live.
    Spineless appeasers all.
    Where are the Knights Templar when needed?
    Ah yes, murdered by the French on Friday 13th.

    ReplyDelete
  3. We can't deny the sincerely held beliefs of followers of other religions. Islam is growing because it is strict and disciplined and, sad to say, Islamic terrorists die for their faith giving it a perverted credibility.
    Contrast this with Western Christianity as in the CinW. LGBT, gay marriage, schools teaching same sex relationships, and an unchallenged backdrop of profanity in the media and on the internet. Above all, the reluctance of its leaders to defend their faith and instead seek to accommodate others is very damaging. Perhaps they think that by so doing they are demonstrating God's love, but they neglect the main issue which is the Gospel message through which it must be expressed.
    Islam grows and Christianity shrinks.
    Stoppit

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  4. My word, I am absolutely astounded by how shamefully negative and bitter this particular post is. I found the programme tremendously insightful and look forward to following the series. I notice one thing - whatever the blog entry, the comments and 'blame' soon turn to the LGBTQ+ community. Classic scapegoating. Jesus had much to say about that kind of theology. Shameful and petty.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Assuming you and your LGBTQ+ community survive being thrown from the roof of a multi-storey car park, your Yoga classes will be next to go.

      https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-48395711

      Delete
    2. Knight Hospitality25 May 2019 at 09:27

      The slow and steady takeover continues in Londonistan.
      https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-48401923/the-mayor-who-wears-a-hijab

      Delete
    3. Try as hard as you like Pilgrim but you will never upset the natural order of man/woman as God has created. This is not scapegoating or blaming as you like to think. The Church always accepts everyone into its midst and has done for a long time - before your lot adopted a pointless victim mentality.
      Everyman

      Delete