Catholic World News

English bishop: protest persecution of atheists

March 08, 2016

An English bishop has issued a call for Christians to defend atheists from persecution.

Writing in the Universe, Bishop Declan Lang of Clifton-- who chairs the international-affairs committee for the bishops' conference of England Wales-- argued:

The Catholic community in England and Wales has a role to play in ensuring that the government maintains this position and continues to speak out when people are imprisoned, tortured or killed on account of their atheism.

Bishop Lang cited the case of an atheist who was killed by a more two years agao because he had taken the atheist position on his blog. He said that five more atheists have subsequently been murdered in Bangladesh. In Saudi Arabia, atheism is classified as a form of terrorism, he said.

The bishop said that Christian support for persecuted atheists would be "a practical expression of solidarity" and would promote religious freedom for all people.

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