Zayed University | David Cameron: A New Religious Extremist? | Senior Seminar: Democracy | | | |

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‘Britain is a Christian country’ technically, due to the history of Britain, and constitutionally this is true. In construct, the majority of British people are Christians, regardless if they are religious or not. However, David Cameron have put himself in a kind of bad situation, especially after stating that Britain should be unashamedly “evangelical” about its Christianity. Some people have argued that Cameron’s statement was in order to build a bridge between him and the Church, especially after his support to same-sex marriage. Yet, despite the fact that Cameron’s believes are totally respected, Britain’s society is a ‘plural’ society that has a multi-religious and non-religious groups. it is not problematic if David Cameron is wearing his personal religion on his sleeve. This applies as long as the Prime Minister is not intending to exploit his position and his power as leader of the nation to privilege Christianity, and give it a special voice in policy-making that will affect all people in Britain, those who are religious and non-religious, Christians and non-Christians, then that's fine.
Politically, mixing religion with politics is not the preferable way to govern a state, even though that religion can be used as a guide towards morality. This approach can be as a result for the wrong interpretation of religion, or how some leaders manipulate religion and twist its principles around to what benefit their interests. Across the world in our present and historically, the phenomena of applying religion in twisted way is wide spread. Thus, religion, generally, has to be excluded and separated from ‘the way that the state should be govern’, which in another word is secularism.
Ideologies, beliefs and religion, in general, are parts of