Nigel Farage has described Britain as a Judeo-Christian country and stressed that we need to “start standing up for our values”.
The UKIP leader was interviewed by Fox News presenter Sean Hannity in the wake of the anti-terror proposals announced by the Prime Minister on Monday.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has also spoken out, saying that we are a “Christian nation” and arguing that we need to “champion” our Christian values.
Division
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Pickles responded to the persecution of Christians in the middle-east this summer as well as the rise of anti-Semitic attacks and protests.
He said: “Aggressive secularists would advocate the suppression of religion in the public sphere. Yet this would only perpetuate the message of intolerance towards others.”
Mr Pickles went on to say: “At heart, we are a Christian nation”. He highlighted that historically, Britain is a country which upholds justice and tolerance towards others.
Salt and light
He said: “Our defence of freedom, the rule of law and the evolution of our democracy have all grown from the seedbed of faith.”
The Communities Secretary added: “For centuries, these ideals have been the salt and light of the nation.”
Pickles also argued that a “cursory glance at European history shows the worst atrocities can begin with turning a blind eye to seemingly small acts of discrimination”.
Freedoms
He said that freedom of speech and freedom of religion go “hand in hand”.
Earlier this year, Pickles made waves after saying that militant atheists should “get over” Britain being a “Christian nation”.
After Fox News showed a video of Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary, Farage said that the rise of radical individuals in the UK was due to a decline in traditional values.
Referring to the rise of extremism in the UK, the UKIP leader added: “A lot of this is our own fault,” and said: “We have been too weak” in defending our Christian values.
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