Religion and Politics

Labour divisions grow as Sadiq Khan backs Israel-Gaza ceasefire (The Times, 27 October 2023)

Similar headlines are appearing all over various newspapers, and Labour’s divisions are out in the open again. It was a few nights ago when Keir Starmer met his Muslim MPs who were unhappy with the direction his party is taking. On Times Radio, Carole Walker had an MP from Birmingham. He talked about “us Muslims,” and that got me a little worried. Are these MPs bringing religion into politics, and are they not able to separate their religion from world events?

If that is the case, we should be having a discussion about it because an MP should not bring their religion into events. He or she may have constituents who are of different faiths or have no faith, and if they see their MPs bringing faith into their politics, how would they feel about contacting their MP about any concerns they may have? What happens if that constituent happens to be Jewish and wants to address anti-Semitism? Or what happens if the constituents have a great dislike for religion and want to contact their MP to address their concerns about religion? Would these people feel nervous about contacting an MP if they feel that the MP is giving more emphasis to one faith or bringing their own faith into politics?

That is not good news. Religion and politics mixing together threaten the death of secular values and freedom. I want all MPs to be above it. I want them to be unbiased towards any faith, and I want them not to give an impression that they are unable to separate their religion from their politics.