Religion in public life, Catholicism notably, viewed with suspicion
12:00 AM CST on Sunday, December 30, 2007
LONDON – Former Prime Minister Tony Blair's recent conversion to Roman Catholicism drew smirks from the British press that seemed to underscore this nation's deeply embedded suspicion of religion in the public square and its lingering mistrust of Catholicism in particular.
"I'm Holy Blair," was the Sunday Mirror's headline. "Blair Switch Project," joked the Daily Mail.
Rupert Murdoch's Sunday Times full-page headline was "Here comes trouble, Father."
The story featured a composite photo of Mr. Blair gazing toward heaven and a benignly smiling Pope Benedict XVI.
The Times article raised doubts about the legitimacy of Mr. Blair's conversion, suggesting that it had been improperly "fast-tracked" because the Vatican was "desperate for such a high-profile convert."
The article also noted that "on abortion, stem-cell research and civil partnerships for homosexuals, Blair's record in office was well outside the Catholic pale."
Mistrust of Catholicism is nothing new in Britain, which has had a Jewish prime minister (Benjamin Disraeli) but never a Catholic.
"When I was young, no-popery prejudice still had real influence," wrote William Rees-Mogg, 79, the retired editor of The Times and now an occasional columnist.
"In politics, a Roman Catholic prime minister was unthinkable, and a Roman Catholic lord chancellor was actually illegal."
The English monarch, as the official head of the Church of England, is still barred from marrying a Catholic, and even minor royals far down the line of succession must renounce their claims to the throne if they take a Catholic spouse.
Robin Shepherd, a senior fellow at Chatham House, a London think tank, said British anti-Catholicism is fading with each generation and that the negative reaction to Mr. Blair's conversion was more indicative of British attitudes toward religion in general.
"I'd put it in terms of aggressive secularism rather than anti-Catholicism," he said. "The real prejudice is against this joyful and open expression of religious conviction."
Mr. Blair, whose wife and children are Catholic, hinted at his interest in Catholicism for years, but he picked an auspicious moment to celebrate his conversion.
A few days after Mr. Blair was formally received into the church, British papers published the results of a survey indicating that church attendance among Catholics in Britain had for the first time passed the Church of England's attendance figures.
Anglicans in Britain still outnumber Catholics by 3-to-1, but Catholics are more likely to attend Sunday Mass, and their numbers have been boosted over the last few years by a huge influx of Polish immigrants.
Despite the uptick in attendance for British Catholics, overall church attendance figures are in steep decline.
In a country where 72 percent of the population identifies itself as Christian, only 8 percent say they go to church on a regular basis.
George Weigel, a Catholic theologian at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, attributes Britain's uneasiness with religion to "a powerful but essentially false idea that most of Europe's darkest moments can be blamed on excessive religious faith and that in order to be a modern, tolerant and civil society, one has to be outside the flow of Christian history."
As a result, he said, serious religious commitment in Britain is viewed as "a kind of hobby, like keeping parakeets or breeding corgis – definitely something that should not have a place at the table of public conversation."
Tom Hundley,
Chicago Tribune
...... Tony blair
Archbishop Rowan Williams, the leader of the Anglican Communion, to which Blair had belonged, wished the convert every good in his spiritual journey.
Tony Blair is presently an envoy to the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office, commented on Blair’s conversion to the Catholic faith. This is "good news that we welcome with respect," he said. "Catholics are glad to welcome into their community those who, through a serious and reflective journey, convert to Catholicism."
Archbishop Rowan Williams, the leader of the Anglican Communion, to which Blair had belonged, wished the convert every good in his spiritual journey.
Tony Blair is presently an envoy to the Middle East.
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