The Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Rev Michael Scott-Joynt, warned that the death of ‘religious literacy’ among those who made and administered the law had created an imbalance in the way in which those with faith were treated compared to sexual minorities. Highlighting the case of Gary McFarlane, a relationship counsellor who was sacked by Relate for refusing to give sex therapy to a homosexual couple, he said that the judiciary now went out of its way to protect the rights of minorities. At the same time, for the first time in British history politicians and judges were largely ignorant of religion and so failed to appreciate the importance Christians placed on abiding by the scriptures rather than the politically correct values of the secular state. The Bishop’s concerns were underlined by Lord Woolf, a former Lord Chief Justice, who agreed that in some legal cases the balance had gone ‘too far’ in tipping away from Christians.
Pray: that lawmakers and enforcers will ensure that fairness and balance between political correctness and Christian beliefs will be restored. (Pr.16:11)