Why has being Christian become so controversial in this election?
by James Macintyre, Christian Today:
Perhaps it is a sign of the increasingly secular times, at least in the political world, that religion appears to have become a running theme in the current general election – and not in a good way.
In the latest of a series of stories relating to the faith of various candidates, the Conservative MP for Lewes Maria Caulfield, who is a practising Christian, was targeted by ‘Progressive Alliance’ campaigners dressed in nun costumes and singing ‘How do you solve a problem like Maria?’
In a bitter war of words, Caulfield accused the flash mob of ‘preaching hate,’ which prompted Progressive Sussex to describe Caulfield’s claims as ‘astounding’ and ‘disresectful’ in the wake of the terror attacks while the Liberal Democrat candidate Kelly-Marie Blundell urged her Tory opponent to find the humour in the event.
But Caulfield said: ‘While many on the march may have found it a bit of fun, I see no funny side in them marching down the street chanting “get her out” with placards with my photo on and dressing up as a nun, perhaps to ridicule me as a Christian MP. In the final days of the campaign I would urge opposition parties to be more responsible considering what happened to my colleague Jo Cox this time last year. Let’s stick to fighting on policies rather than personal attacks and while we may not agree on issues let us truly be tolerant of each other’s views.’
The row follows another controversial event last weekend, when Theresa May found herself under attack for joining pastor Agu Iruweku at Jesus House for a church service followed by a question and answer session. Peter Tatchell, the human rights campaigner, said that by meeting the pastor the Prime Minister had ‘recklessly colluded with homophobic Christian extremists’.
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