We must find a better way to live together

For the second day in a row, the Leicester Mercury's "First Person" column addresses an issue of interest to this blog. It's another thought-provoking piece by Dr Allan Hayes (photo above).

We must find a better way to live together

Allan Hayes argues that the non-religious are being ignored in the Big Society

Bishop Tim has expressed concern at David Cameron's Munich speech and Suleman Nagdi has responded admirably to the piece by Fr Pereira. However, both suffer from a serious limitation in the way they approach the issue of how we can live well together: they both see it as a matter of arriving at a modus vivendi between religions, and for the Bishop, of ensuring that the Church of England is on top.

The Bishop comments that Muslims "are proud of the Christian heritage of our nation, and their place within it".

I invite our Muslim friends to be proud of our secular heritage and the freedoms to practice their religion and take part as equals in our politics that have had to be fought for against the Church of England.

Mr Nagdi refers to the European Renaissance, but that Renaissance crucially involved freeing us from the domination of the church.

The Bishop talks of avoiding parallel lives while his church pursues a calculated strategy of gaining control of our state schools to shore up its own influence, a strategy that is the main driver in the division of our school system and our children along religious lines. The Church of England can be an asset to this country, but only if it stops using the state for its own ends.

The Big Society, which is supposed to put local people in control, is passing control of more schools, and now other services, to unaccountable religious organisations. Between them, the Church of England and the Catholic church already control one third of the schools that we pay for.

The new Hindu school in Evington is an early warning of what lies ahead: an outside body comes in, puts a proposal to the Secretary of State with minimal local consultation, and gets approval. What is to be done?

Mr Nagdi refers to the "interfaith ethos" of Leicester. He mentions the "Faith Leaders Forum chaired by our Bishop of Leicester", a Catholic document that "anchored Muslim commitment to our Christian Family", he could have added the Leicester Council of Faiths.

These have a role to play, but the list starkly illustrates the religion-limited perception I referred to earlier – democracy demands better – the non-religious and those who want to live with others simply as people are being ignored.

There is a real danger of turning what should be a mature and informed political discussion about how we organise our country into a clash of religions, and of religion against the rest – this would be a disaster.

We must find a better way before it is too late.

Referring to events in Egypt, President Obama has pleaded: "We need not be defined by our differences; we can be defined by our common humanity.'' We need a new Renaissance, a Twenty First Century Renaissance, not just for Europe, but for the world and all its people.

Allan Hayes is humanist Chaplain to the Lord Mayor and former President of Leicester Secular Society.