Section which covers- Prayers in Parliament, The Lords Spiritual, Defender of the Faith,
Lords Spiritual, Defender of the Faith, Should Religion be involved in the workings of the State?
Before the debates begin, the House
of Lords and the House of Commons
both say a specialist prayer.
To bless the
debates
The House of Commons' prayer is said by the speaker.
The House of Lords' prayer is said
by a Lord Spiritual- The senior
Bishop
The prayer is optional.
People stand and face
the wall because in the
past, people would not
have been able to kneel
with swords
The Lord's Spiritual
The House of Lords is
the upper house and
the second chamber to
parliament.
They review the proposed legislation from the House of Commons
Lords Spiritual rarely attend and only one of
them is needed for them in order to do the
prayer at the beggining.
Defender of the faith.
King Henry was given the title of
'Defender of the Faith' after releasing
a book on the sacraments of marriage.
This title was revoked after he
broke away from the Roman
Catholic Church
Parliament gave him
back the title, but this
time as a 'Defender of
Anglicanism'
All monarchs have been appointed the tile of 'Defenders of Anglicanism'
Prince Charles said that 'I personally would rather see my future role
of Defender of Faith, not the Faith'
Should religion be involved in the workings of the state?
YES
It is impossible to
seperate religion and
politics as they are
both crucial parts of
life
Religious believers have moral
responcibility to campaign for
political issues that follow their faith
Religious believers have
always been involved in
important political changes.
such as the demolition of
slavery and the campaigning
against racism.
It is important to put
the will of God before
man
Religious people
encourage more money
to be spent on things
such as education and
hospitals
Religion can ensure
that the government
acts in a good and
moral way
NO
Atheists may resent the
religious involvement in
secular matters
Religious believers should be more concerned
about their spiritual development rather than
politics.
The UK is a very developed society and has many religions
within it. Maybe it would reduce conflict by taking away
Christianitys involvement in politics.
Romans 13:1- 'Everyone must submit themselves to the governing authorities, for
there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that
exist have been established by God'