The front page of today’s Le Monde
In my old commune it was well known that the kids only did “cathé” so they could have a party and get presents when they had been confirmed. You never saw any of them again in church apart from funerals and wedding blessings as I used to walk the dog when the mass finished and would see the diehards leaving, usually all over 65.
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I wouldn’t have described it quite like that, but I’ve become very aware that there are people who are seeking reassurance and guidance about how to live that society seems to be discarding. Traditional Christianity can provide an island of stability in a stormy sea of changing social mores.
OTOH if it were what you say, that could be good.
As an absolute, 100% disbeliever, I recognise that many people feel they need religion to help them through life, and I support that, provided they keep their beliefs private and don’t try to preach or impose them on others.
What I take issue with in some established religions is the overwhelming imposition of belief on children from birth.
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I find it quite concerning that one religion has a formal role in UK government.
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What, Atheism? Cos HL has plenty of other faiths as well as Christianity.
Maybe you have a point, though. I’m a man. Why should there be any women in government? 
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It would be more concerning if the Roman Catholic church had a place in government.
The established church, the Church of England, was deemed necessary to prevent undue influence from outside then country via the Vatican and other Roman Catholic countries.
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I find it interesting that Catholic countries and areas seem to be the ones that don’t have a Public Holiday on Good Friday? only Easter Monday.
Protestant and other not predominantly Catholic places seem to be the ones that do get the holiday on Good Friday as well.
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If I wasn’t a lapsed catholic, I might find that offensive, but I don’t think any religion should have a formal role in forming our laws.
However, as a Scot, I would question why only the CofE is represented and not the Church of Scotland or the Wee Frees (shudder), if there is going to be an entitlement based on religion.
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What formal entitlement does atheism (or any religion other than CofE) have in setting laws in Westminster?
The only formal entitlement I’m aware of is the 26 Lords Spiritual, 3% of the House of Lords.
There are rather more atheists than that!
Which rather deftly avoids the point that not one of them is there through entitlement due to their religious beliefs or lack thereof.
It was a consequence of the refusal of the Pope to annul the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, which led to a Tudor nationalist argument that authority over the English church belonged to the English monarchy.
However I’d argue that these days the influence of C19th derived US evangelical Christianity seems a much greater threat than Rome.
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True, of course.
But (I think) even you would prefer them to most of Johnson’s, Truss’s and Sunak’s appointments!
Hah, I started typing that very thing in my last response and decided against the deflection.
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Surely not having an unelected second chamber is the answer. It’s an absurdity in a so called democracy. I’m a Scot too but I think if there was shred of legitimacy in that chamber, C of E bishops would be it. But there isn’t and they aren’t.
Oh, indeed but I was on a different rant about the privileged place that the CofE holds in our society
Look at the mess that the first elected chamber gets us into.
The problem is that it is now being filled with unsuccessful politicians instead of people who are on merit and have something useful to contribute.
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That’s the fault of an electorate who don’t engage properly. It might be said that the last person to enter the Palace of Westminster with good intentions was Guy Faukes. And although he ultimately screwed up, we still celebrate and commemorate him and his efforts