Conservative Christians are becoming more confident in the political arena (in UK)
It was the moment that conservative Christian groups' growing stridency in the British political arena went too far, at least for Boris Johnson. On Thursday evening the London mayor gave the clearest sign yet that radical religion and politics still do not mix in the UK when he slapped an almost instant ban on a planned bus advertising campaign that promoted Christian groups' belief in a cure for homosexuality. Whether it was the electoral sensitivities of May's mayoral poll or the feeling that the adverts, due to run on around two dozen red London buses, were underpinned by homophobic sentiments, Johnson acted within an hour of news of the campaign leaking out to draw a line in the sand. His move will startle conservative Christians who have been agitating to replicate in British politics the American example where religious values take centre stage in campaigning.....
"..Members of Anglican Mainstream hold strong views about homosexuality that are not made clear by the bus ad. Asked to explain how a gay Christian would be treated within a church attended by supporters of Anglican Mainstream, the movement's UK spokeswoman, the Rev Lynda Rose, drew an analogy with people with drinking problems.
Robert Colquhoun, 40 Days for Life's campaign director in the UK, set up the British operation in 2010 after seeing the tactics in action in Ottowa in Canada. He said he was impressed by the way vigils brought the ethical and spiritual issues out of the abstract and into the communities where abortion clinics operate, and how the campaign had claimed responsibility for the closure of 22 abortion clinics in the US so far. Affiliated campaigns in 13 countries pay a $199 fee to join up, he said, while campaign training is carried out centrally from an office just outside Washington DC, with sessions carried out via broadcasts over the internet.
"In the UK, campaigns on ethical issues have been too focused on politics and have been missing the mark," he said. "Whether euthanasia, gay marriage or abortion, it used to be a question in the UK of encouraging people to write to your MP and that used to be it. But there is so much more to these issues and we focus on bringing it to life in the community. Many people are pro-life but it has been an abstract idea for them, but by having a campaign you can get people involved through personal participation. If you don't have something going on at the grassroots, what chance do you have in parliament and the courts?"
More at link:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/12/conservative-christians-confident-political-arena
Note:
I was interested in the involvement of the Rev. Lynda Rose. I have mentioned before that one of the key events that led me to become far more concerned about Christian Right intrusions into Britain was the vile smear campaign against my former pro-choice MP, who was smeared in elements of the press and in local leaflets, as 'Dr Death', which probably tipped the balance toward his being narrowly defeated by a Tory. Well, Lynda Rose, who is the representative of the Oxford branch of the supposedly secular and nonpartisan anti-abortion charity 'Life', was the person who prepared and distributed the leaflets, and has boasted several times of her involvement. Now it seems that she is ALSO the spokesperson for the British branch of Anglican Mainstream, a right-wing organization that is highly critical of the mostly-liberal Anglican leadership.
Ugh.
And note the explicit citing by such activists of the American Christian Right.
Ugh ugh ugh.
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