Published by the religion think-tank Theos, it stated the answer actually lies in having better end of life care.

Elizabeth Oldfield, director of Theos told Premier how the Christian community could improve end of life care.

“You could give to or volunteer at your local hospice.

“They’re very often wonderful places where people’s dignity is protected and if you will invest those and churches get involved in those we’ll see even higher levels of end of life palliative care there.

“True dignity in death would come from investing the necessary time, money and resources into high-quality end of life care.”

The report was based on a range of interviews with doctors, nurses and hospital and hospice chaplains.

Oldfield also stated it is vital to listen when those in long term care feel like a burden or that their worth is diminished.

However the Rt Rev Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham, disagrees with the Theos report.

He’s urged for assisted dying laws in the UK relaxed.

“The law we have right now has not kept pace with changes in the last 50 or 60 years,” he said.

He also rebuked the idea that patients had to choose between better care and a dignified death, claiming “good palliative care puts the person in the centre and what they consider to be a dignified death.”

When asked if God want us to control when we die, Rev Wilson said God wouldn’t mind.

“Life is a gift to us and…

Rev Steve Morris, who started Memory Cafe for those who are elderly, lonely and suffering from dementia, said it won’t be a hard task.

He told Premier News Hour: “I bet you that every single person from a church, if you knocked on each door beside you, five on each side, you would find at least one person who is so lonely they wish they could die.

“As a church, we’ve got all kinds of missions and ministries we want to do, this is the closest at hand. As Christians and churches, we really can do something about it.”

Rev Morris presented the challenge after a new study found elderly care home residents have as little as two minutes of social interaction per day.

The research – which was led by the University of Exeter, King’s College London and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust – trained key care home staff to deliver person-centred care, such as talking to residents about their interests.

When combined with just one hour a week of social interaction, the programme improved quality of life and reduced agitation and aggression in people with dementia.

Rev Morris said the study’s findings are not surprising.

 “We have people coming to our Memory Café when we started it and they would say they literally had weeks without speaking to another human being. So I’m not surprised that a small amount of interaction makes a huge amount of difference.”

The…

Judge David R Lampe from the Superior Court in Kern County – north of Los Angeles – concluded that forcing Cathy Miller to fulfil the order would have contradicted her right to free speech.

The State of California took legal action against the owner of Tastries bakery in Bakersfield after she declined an order last year by a lesbian couple, Mireya and Eileen Rodriguez-Del Rio.

In a document seen by the Bakersfield Californian newspaper, Judge Lampe concluded: “No baker may place their wares in a public display case, open their shop, and then refuse to sell because of race, religion, gender, or gender identification.

“The difference here is that the cake in question is not yet baked.”

He went on to say: “The right to freedom of speech under the First Amendment outweighs the State’s interest in ensuring a freely-accessible marketplace.

“The right of freedom of thought guaranteed by the First Amendment includes the right to speak, and the right to refrain from speaking.”

It is unclear whether the Rodriguez-Del Rio family will appeal the decision.

Last year, the international evangelist Franklin Graham expressed his support for Cathy Miller, saying: “I appreciate the fact that Cathy Miller stood up for her beliefs…”

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