Bishops, rabbis and morality
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.From Sir Fred Catherwood
Sir: Andrew Marr is the country's best political commentator, wise, knowledgeable, and instinctively right on all the main issues; but religion seems to be out of his field ("Enter priestly men, to fill our moral void", 7 March). His conclusion seems to be that the nation's moral standards are too important to be left to bishops and rabbis and that these big choices should be made by political leaders. But the hard fought tradition in this country is that church and state should be kept separate; rulers are there to tell us what is legal and illegal, but that they should not be allowed to impose their view of what is right and wrong; for if they do, they will use it to their own advantage.
If secular humanism, which is the belief of our ruling classes, tells us all that there is no life after death, that all we will ever have is what we have now and that there is no final judgement to catch up with us; then, logically, we are tempted to grab what we can while we can, however we can and hold on to it hard. That is the materialism which we now see even in formerly honest and trustworthy sections of society. And we are now beginning to tot up the cost of the permissive society since the Sixties.
Visiting city after city as President of the Evangelical Alliance, to encourage our churches to network and organise the work of social relief, I am appalled at the rate of social deterioration. It may be that "two millennia of superstition got gubbed", but though secular humanism can bring down the moral pillars of society, it cannot rebuild them. Nor can the politicians. It is the churches alone which can give moral leadership and grassroots organisation.
Yours sincerely,
FRED CATHERWOOD
Cambridge
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments