We believe but not in church

Posted on May 20th, 2004 by .
Categories: Religion Other.

BBC NEWS | UK | We believe but not in church

We believe but not in church

A new Home Office report has found that four out of five people in England and Wales say they feel an affiliation with an organised religion. The largest number – 74% – say they are Christians.

However with church attendance on the decline and only 7% of Christians in the UK attending church, the figure seems remarkably high.

Why do so many people who have no formal contact with a religious organisation still claim to believe in some form of higher power?

Hanne Stinson, director of the British Humanist Association, says she thinks many of them are “cultural Christians”.

They see themselves as being Christian in the same way as they are British, almost in a tribal way.

“People label themselves with what they were brought up with,” said Hanne.

[MdK]A perfect example of ‘believing without belonging’ and perhaps also of the ethnicisation of religion; you call yourself christian because you are grown up with it, without sharing all the ideas.

There is also some information in Islam:
“”The is a growing consciousness that Muslims are part of a worldwide community.

“Of course we are losing quite a few of the younger generation, who go out clubbing and even take drink. But it is nothing like the Christian churches.

“If someone misses prayers, someone will ask where they were – there is a mutual solidarity that tries to keep the faith.” ”

‘Believing without belonging’ is a difficult concept for islam but I think with muslims there is a double development. First of all you are a muslim because your parents are, without sharing the same values and opinions. Second, islam is subject to reflection and individual choice. You have to make a more or less conscious decision on what it means to be a Muslim. [/MdK]
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Tantawi engages with questions of modernity

Posted on May 20th, 2004 by martijn.
Categories: Internal Debates, Public Islam.

The Daily Star – Arts & Culture – Tantawi engages with questions of modernity

. On: blue jeans, headscarves, Coca-Cola, falafel, Umm Kulthoum and (my own favorite) Smashing Pumpkins.
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