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Archbishop's anger over campus ban on Christians
Last updated at 22:52pm on 06.12.06
Anger: Dr Rowan Williams
The Archbishop of Canterbury has attacked universities for suppressing Christian unions on campuses over their stance on homosexuality.
Dr Rowan Williams believes banning these religious groups threatens 'the integrity of the whole educational process'.
He accused student unions of having a 'fear of open argument'.
The comments follow protests from Anglican and Roman Catholic bishops over the exclusion of Christian unions from some campuses.
Student guilds and associations at Exeter, Birmingham and Edinburgh universities have reportedly voted to suspend these groups from member-ship or use of premises. This is on the grounds that their constitutions or meetings are exclusionary and discriminate against non-Christians and particularly gay people.
Other university unions, including Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh and some London medical schools, are said to have taken similar action.
Dr Williams said universities should be places where students learn from an open exchange of their views - rather than somewhere they can only follow prescribed beliefs.
Writing in the Times Higher Education Supplement, he said: 'The danger in issuing sanctions against a body whose views you disapprove of is that it looks like a fear of open argument.'
Dr Williams insisted that a good higher education institution is one in which 'students learn that their questions are not everyone's questions, and their answers are not everyone's answers'.
He wrote: 'Simply in the fact of being alongside people who are following other academic disciplines, you learn that different people want to know different sorts of things.
'It would be very bad for such a climate if the idea were allowed to gain ground that a student union could be an arbiter of publicly acceptable belief.'
Dr Williams said that quite often the views of traditional Christians on gay sex were seen as being 'on a par' with an expression of hate.
This made it impossible for Christians and Muslims to state their views without being accused of something 'akin to holocaust denial'.
In his article, Dr Williams wrote that any kind of behaviour freely opted for by a responsible adult was likely to be challenged and sexual activity was no different.
To challenge behaviour may be 'deeply unwelcome and offensive' in a personal sense but was not a matter for legislative action.
His comments come amid growing concern over attacks on Christianity in Britain.
Last week, British Airways was forced into a rethink over its ban on employees wearing a Christian cross.
Churches have also spoken out against the Government's Sexual Orientation Regulations, which will come into force in April.
The laws are meant to prevent discrimination against gays. But the Church of England has pointed out that priests could be sued for refusing to bless same-sex civil partnerships.
And the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, recently attacked 'illiberal atheists' who he said were eroding Christianity in public life.
He said: 'Christianity is being systematically eroded from public view, more often than not in the fear of offending those who would not be offended in the least or because of the mistaken belief that Christianity has no role to play in the public arena.'
Reader views (9)
You may have any opinion you wish, but when Christ comes EVERY knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Can't wait! In the meantime we must spread the love, hope, joy, patience, peace, goodness, faith, meekness and longsuffering that the fruits of the Spirit instil in us.
- Valerie Whiteman, Melbourne Beach,USA
It is a great shame that Archbishop Rowan Williams did not read the Ekklesia report into the current situation at Universities. If he had he would know that it is only those Christian societies which deny freedom of speech to others that are being reprimanded. In Exeter CHRISTIANS are banned from speaking at meetings and standing for committee positions in the so called Christian Union because the society denies their Christianity.
There certainly is discrimination at work in Exeter, but it does not come from the Students' Guild, it comes from a society which wishes to present itself as a Christian Union whilst systematically silencing those Christians it disagrees with.
- Ralph, Exeter, UK
There you go... so the Christian church wants us to respect and listen to their archaic "beliefs" and views, whilst denying the same to those who disagree?
- Sej, Reading, UK
So this is tolerance is it.
You must tolerate our choices and beliefs even if you don't agree with them.
More than that you must accept and aid us in our choices and behaviours even if they offend you.
However you can't have the same choices as us, No you are a non-person so intolerable that we won't give you the same respect as we demand from you for ourselves.
This isn't fair, equitable nor just.
Similarly it erodes any trust or grounds for relationship at all, accept in a state of servitude.
- Mike Nz, Wellington NZ
This whole row between the various Christian groups and the government over the gay rights legislation just goes to show how hypocritical, bigoted and small minded the church is. I renounced my Christianity years ago and have no intention of going back.
- Paul, London
I took my little girl, aged, four, to Church for the first time this month. What a breath of fresh air it was. A completely different type of English was spoken describing customs, traditions and beliefs going back to the dawn of our Country.
Our informal Christian village life can be delightful. Celebrate this good culture and ignore politically correct toadies who stand for nothing except their own angst.
- Charlie, Isle of Man
The Archbishop is correct. If, in a University environment, divergent views honestly held cannot be openly and respectfully expressed, discussed and evaluated, then that institution ceases to be truly educational: it has become a place for indoctrination.
- R. H. Goodhew, Wollongong, Australia
Stop worrying about being offensive with your Christian views. Christians need their own version of the gay activist group "Act up". We are not called to be nice people, but kind people. Sometimes kindness means telling someone they are doing something wrong, like homogenital sex. Christian communities are the largest and most numerous NGO's in most western societies. They must organize and defend themselves against those who would repress and oppress the expression of our worldview. Fight the good fight ...
- James Love, Vernon, Canada
The simple fact is that homosexuality is expressly and specifically condemned in several places in the NEW Testament (as well as in the OLD Testament); this is part and parcel of the Christian religion, nothing new.
- David, Birmingham, UK
