Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has blasted as "ludicrous” the punishment of people for expressing their beliefs. In an interview with The Church of England Newspaper, he said he hoped that incidents such the suspension of Caroline Petrie after offering to pray for an elderly patient, and the fate of Jennie Cain, the primary school receptionist who faces the sack after she asked for spiritual support from friends when her daughter was scolded for talking about Hell in the playground, were isolated ones.
And he warned that Christianity was at risk of being sidelined in Britain's "aggressively secularist" society.
He agreed with Church leaders that faith is in danger of being seen as a "personal eccentricity" rather than an important influence on the country.
Mr Blair, in the famous words of his spokesman, Alastair Campbell, did not "do God" while he was in Downing Street. He later admitted that he feared he would be labelled a "nutter" if he spoke publicly about his religious convictions.
But he has since converted to Roman Catholicism and set up the Tony Blair Faith Foundation to "promote respect and understanding about the world's major religions".
Mr Blair said: "Sometimes I think we as Christians are more sensitive than we should be although I say that as someone who when I was in office, although I was perfectly open about my Christianity, nonetheless kept it within certain boundaries that were restricted in terms of what I said publicly. The position of prime minister puts you in a unique category.
"But in general terms in British society there is a risk that people see faith as a personal eccentricity."
Asked about the threat of disciplinary action now faced by public sector staff who are open about their religion, he said: "I hope and believe that stories of people not being allowed to express their Christianity are exceptional or the result of individual ludicrous decisions. My view is that people should be proud of their Christianity and able to express it as they wish."
He admitted that conflict is "inevitable" between traditional religions and the new liberal doctrine of human rights.
But he went on: "The real test of a religion is whether in an age of aggressive secularism it has the confidence to go out and make its case by persuasion."
Mr Blair disclosed, however, that while prime minister he believed equality and diversity were more important than religion in the case of the Catholic adoption agencies, who failed in their bid to be exempted from laws requiring them to consider homosexual couples as potential parents.
"I happen to take the gay rights position," he said. "But at the time of the Catholic adoption society dispute I was also concerned that these people who were doing a fantastic job were not put out of business. You have got to try to work your way through these issues."
He also said he believed the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, had been misunderstood when he said it "seems inevitable" that some parts of Islamic law would be enshrined in Britain's legal code.
"I thought at the time all this was a lot of fuss over nothing," Mr Blair said.
His comments come just days after his wife, Cherie, told of her disappointment at the apparent "terminal decline" of Christianity in a Channel 4 documentary, saying: "Everywhere you look today churches are being closed, Christians are often being marginalised and faith is something few people like to discuss openly."
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(Source: CIN)