I AM heartened to hear that Aid to the Church in Need (UK) reaches out and provides aid for all people in need, regardless of faith views. However, its very mission statement specifically singles out atheism as the cause of the oppression of Christians, and further defends this in its letter (October 5) citing communist regimes as being atheistic and anti-Christian. While I do not dispute that in places such as China, Christians are persecuted, isn't it true that the vast majority of persecution of Christians happens not at the hands of atheists, but at the hands of those of other faiths? Sadly, Christians are most likely to be persecuted in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, parts of Africa, India, Iraq, in fact anywhere where there is a stronghold for a competing religious ideology which views Christianity as blasphemous. The true problem isn't atheism, but the idea that one faith is supreme over others and that people must be converted to it. That is an ideology Christianity shares.
The Scottish Secular Society take issue not with the good works of Aid to the Church in Need, or their desire to help those suffering persecution, but with its singling out of one belief system as the cause of persecution, against all evidence, in a discriminatory and sectarian manner. Were it to have picked any other religion to do so, its suitability as a sponsor would have been rightly questioned, but it seems that it's OK to hold bigoted, discriminatory views about atheists.
Caroline Lynch,
Former Chair of the Scottish Secular Society,
58a Broughton Street, Edinburgh.
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