As part of her Easter goodwill message to the United Kingdom,
Theresa May has admonished the nation to be “be confident” about the important
role Christianity plays in British life.
The PM remembered how she was brought up as a Christian from
childhood during her Easter message the British people and made emphasis on how
people should feel free to talk about what they believe in: “And that
absolutely includes their faith in Christ.”
She said: “This Easter I think of those values that we
share, values that I learnt in my own childhood, growing up in a vicarage.
“Values of compassion, community, citizenship. The sense of
obligation we have to one another.
“These are values we all hold in common, and values that are
visibly lived out every day by Christians, as well as by people of other faiths
or none. We should be confident about the role that Christianity has to play in
the lives of people in our country.
“And we should treasure the strong tradition that we have in
this country of religious tolerance and freedom of speech.
“We must continue to ensure that people feel able to speak
about their faith, and that absolutely includes their faith in Christ.”
She also went a little further to make reference to
persecuted Christians, saying we should be “mindful of Christians and religious
minorities around the world who do not enjoy these same freedoms but who
practise their religion in secret and often in fear”.
The PM’s message came as last week hundreds of Christians
celebrated Palm Sunday in burned-out churches in the Iraqi towns of Qaraqosh
and Karamles near Mosul that were recently liberated from Islamic State.
To date, the displaced Christians haven’t been able to go
back to their places of worship since being forced to flee in August 2014.
Mrs May also called on the nation to give full support to
Brexit in the video message, which was released on YouTube by Downing Street.
She said: “This year, after a period of intense debate over
the right future for our country, there is a sense that people are coming
together and uniting behind the opportunities that lie ahead.
“For at heart, this country is one great union of people and
nations with a proud history and a bright future. And as we face the
opportunities ahead of us – the opportunities that stem from our decision to
leave the European Union and embrace the world – our shared interests, our
shared ambitions, and above all our shared values can, and must, bring us
together.”
Also speaking about Easter, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called
on people to use the values at the heart of Christianity to overcome society’s
problems.
The Labour leader said: “We hear painful stories every day,
of homelessness, poverty or crisis in our health service or across the world,
of the devastating consequences of war and conflict, including millions forced
to become refugees.
“We need to respond to these problems head on, through
action and support for social justice, peace and reconciliation.”
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