British Christians have been pressured to hide their religious beliefs in workplaces and in public spaces, according to a Telegraph interview with Dominic Grieve, a former attorney general.
"I worry that there are attempts to push faith out of the public space. Clearly it happens at a level of local power," said Grieve, who himself is an Anglican. "In my view, it's very undesirable."
"Some of the cases which have come to light of employers being disciplined or sacked for simply trying to talk about their faith in the workplace I find quite extraordinary," he added.
Indeed, there have been a series of incidents during which employers restricted their employees from wearing crosses at work, or even fired for refusing to do certain things at work that are against their faith.
Grieve argued that instead of blocking people from being expressive of their faith, individuals should be free to manifest their beliefs, especially during a time in which there has been rampant and brutal religious persecution in the Middle East from the Islamic State. In light of recent persecution, he said that expressing faith is "more important than ever."
"I think politicians should express their faith," he said. "I have never adhered to the Blair view that we don't "do God'; indeed, I'm not sure that Blair does. I think that people with faith have an entitlement to explain where that places them in approaching problems."
He added, "I think that those of us who are politicians and Christians should be in the business of doing it. It doesn't mean that we have the monopoly of wisdom, but I do think Christianity has played an enormous role in shaping this country."
