View source for Religion in the United Kingdom

{{Country
|name           ='''Religion in the United Kingdom'''
|map	        =Union_jack.jpg
|map2           =UK location.png
}}

'''Religion in the United Kingdom''' is on the decline, with a year-on-year increase of people self-identifying as atheists having continued since at least 1980, with 31% to 44% of the population identifying themselves as an [[atheist]], [[agnostic]], or non-believer.<ref>http://www.adherents.com/largecom/com_atheist.html</ref> Topics like atheist summer camps<ref>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1202810/Camp-faithless-Is-Britains-atheist-summer-camp-harmless-fun-worried.html</ref> and disgusting adverts on the sides of buses stating "There is probably no god."<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7698559.stm</ref> are routinely tolerated. Atheists are now protected from discrimination by law and it may be a criminal offence as an act of "hate speech" to say that they will go to Hell, l thus curtailing Christians' right to free speech. According to the ''Daily Mail'', "[This law] claims that dress code may breach the rights of girls who feel compelled to live as boys." Cross-dressing is an abomination in the eyes of God.<ref>Deut.22:5: The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
Handbook of Psychiatry By Michael Shepherd</ref><ref>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1256264/Harriet-Harmans-equality-law-cover-vegans-teetotallers-atheists.html</ref><ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/jul/28/atheist-camp-quest</ref><ref>http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?type=RESOURCES&itemId=1075201493</ref> Christian Adoption Agencies in the UK, run by churches, are not allowed to 'discriminate' against [[Homosexuality|homosexuals]]. If the church wishes to help match orphans with married couples, they must also [[Homosexual Adoption Scandal|help gay couples]] find children.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6289301.stm</ref><ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/5433917/Catholic-charities-breaking-law-on-homosexual-adoption.html</ref> The liberal politicians of the United Kingdom obviously believe that it helps "equality" and "human rights" to discriminate against the church in such a disgusting way. This law will '''increase''' the number of homosexuals adopting and '''decrease''' the number of Christians adopting.

== The Church of England ==
The [[Church of England]] is the official Christian church of England. According to Church publications, there has been a year-on-year decline in Sunday church attendance since 1968. According to their website, only one million people attend mass on a Sunday. The population of the United Kingdom is over sixty million.<ref>http://www.cofe.anglican.org/</ref> 1.7 million people attend a church at least once a month, and this figure has stayed approximately the same since 2000.<ref>http://www.cofe.anglican.org/about/thechurchofenglandtoday/</ref>

The Church of England has outgoings of over £900 million and this has stayed the same for many years. With a constantly decreasing congregation, the church has had tragically had to close churches due to financial requirements.<ref>http://www.cofe.anglican.org/info/funding/</ref><ref>http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article1362709.ece</ref>

Tragically, the church has had to sell buildings, some hundreds of years old, to continue its religious practice. Disgustingly, a nightclub now exists in a 300-year-old church in Leeds.<ref>http://www.clubzone.com/c1/Leeds/Nightclubs.html</ref> The operation of this business is nothing short of blasphemy: The DJs are referred to by the title 'Reverend' in flyers, and the regular Monday event being called "Monday Night Mass."<ref>http://uk.tilllate.com/en/event/9638951</ref>

== Atheism Advocacy ==
Atheism advocacy is very active in the United Kingdom.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7813812.stm</ref><ref>http://www.atheistbus.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Cardiff-Merthyr-Road.jpg</ref> Pro-atheist advertising is regularly paid for by the British Humanist Association, which is supported by [[Richard Dawkins]]. Atheists are protected from discrimination by law and their organisations act as lobbying groups. The British Humanist Association claims to have undertaken "significant work" on the new 'Equality Bill' passing Parliament in March 2010.<ref>http://www.humanism.org.uk/news/view/515</ref> The National Secular Society, in the name of "promoting the separation of church and state," actually promotes a complete removal of funding for any religious services. They are against hospital chaplains, despite the significant relief and support ill religious people feel when consoled by a minister. They believe that a civil registrar who is a Christian should perform civil ceremonies for homosexuals, and they believe that Christian schools should be forced to teach sex education.<ref>http://www.secularism.org.uk/islington-registrar-who-refused.html</ref><ref>http://www.secularism.org.uk/sex-education-government-amendme.html</ref><ref>http://www.secularism.org.uk/lets-fight-the-church-on-equalit.html</ref><ref>http://www.secularism.org.uk/state-funding-of-church-building.html</ref>

In 2010, the National Secular Society also forced the government, through threat of legal action, to remove a religious opt-out clause from discrimination law, causing serious problems for the Church.<ref>http://www.secularism.org.uk/nss-forces-government-to-remove1.html</ref>

== Blasphemy ==

In January 2008, Liberal Democrat MP Even Harris, proposed the repeal of the UK's Blasphemy laws. After celebrity support from Philip Pullman and Richard Dawkins, the law eventually passed in May 2008. Evan Harris is a member of the National Secular Society and a gay rights campaigner.<ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1942668/Blasphemy-laws-are-lifted.html</ref><ref>http://www.evanharris.org.uk/</ref>

The Blasphemy laws have been 'replaced' with equality laws which make religious discrimination akin to racial discrimination. This law, however (also protecting homosexuals), prevents the church from being anti-gay and effectively gag it.

== References ==
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[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:United Kingdom]]