UK is a Christian nation, Cameron emphasizes

In a speech commemorating the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, Prime Minister David Cameron emphasized that the United Kingdom is a Christian nation.

“We are a Christian country,” he said. “And we should not be afraid to say so … what I am saying is that the Bible has helped to give Britain a set of values and morals which make Britain what it is today.

Values and morals we should actively stand up and defend. The alternative of moral neutrality should not be an option. You can’t fight something with nothing. Because if we don’t stand for something, we can’t stand against anything.”

“Those who oppose this usually make the case for secular neutrality,” he added. “They argue that by saying we are a Christian country and standing up for Christian values we are somehow doing down other faiths. And that the only way not to offend people is not to pass judgment on their behavior. I think these arguments are profoundly wrong. And being clear on this is absolutely fundamental to who we are as a people, what we stand for, and the kind of society we want to build.”

In an apparent swipe at Catholic teaching on women’s ordination, Cameron, an Anglican, said that the Bible has been “at the forefront of the emergence of democracy, the abolition of slavery, and the emancipation of women--even if not every church has always got the point.”