Tony Blair and Secularism

Whilst I very nearly wrote an angry letter to the New Statesman complaining of it's loathsome columnist's latest unequivocally contemptible drool, I didn't because I couldn't be bothered. However, as I read my latest issue of Time magazine this week, I did get that very same urge, but now with slightly greater gusto. The article followed Tony Blair's recent personal endeavours to establish a faith-based institution aimed at harnessing a collective good among faith groups. Whatever you think of that prospect is neither here nor there for the purposes of this post. The journalist, Michael Elliott claims British heritage to his name, but he seems to lack the most basic understanding of British discourse. In doing so, he claimed Britain, "for all it's secularism, is still nominally a Protestant nation, with an established Protestant church." Perhaps a Protestant-based denomination, Mr Elliott, but this is not so; we live in a country ordained by the Church of England. He continues, "Britain is one of the most aggressively secular societies on the planet." The employment of the term "aggressive" is somewhat disconcerting as it carries strong connotations of outward hatred and active hostility towards religion, which we do not emphasize in our evolving community. The article, on the whole, is otherwise well written and direct on the points it establishes, yet I couldn't help myself but bash out an email to the editor. Here it be:

Whilst Elliott's article well presented the recent developments of Tony Blair's current agenda, his assessment of Britain as "one of the most aggressively secular societies on the planet" is fundamentally inaccurate. As a British citizen myself I have grown cautious of my home nation's international portrayal. In this instance, one should take pains to note that Britain is ruled under a democratic monarchy, whereby the Queen is not only the head of the state, but also the head of the church of England. Although, for all intents and purposes, British society has stepped far back from religious practise, it remains an inherently Christian nation. Unfortunately, until the monarchy is toppled, or democracy is free to operate independently from the royal family, this will always be so.