While the Oxford University Press is busy removing words associated with Christianity from its 17 children’s dictionaries, an avowed atheist is warning that Christian principles must not be abandoned or the constitutional heritage will be lost for all of Europe.

Citing the changing religious climate in the United Kingdom and an increase in multiculturalism, words associated with Christianity of a bygone era apparently, have been removed from children’s dictionaries. The deleted words, many commonly used by the Church of England as well as by Catholics and protestant denominations, include abbey, altar, bishop, chapel, christen, disciple, minister, monastery, monk, nun, nunnery, parish, pew, psalm, pulpit, saint, sin, devil, and vicar.

Vineeta Gupta explained the decision for Oxford: “People don’t go to church as often as before. Our understanding of religion is within multiculturalism, which is why some words such as ‘Pentecost’ or ‘Whitsun’ would have been in [use] 20 years ago but not now.”

But if these words are less commonly used, wouldn’t that make the case for keeping them in the dictionary? The words that were added to the dictionaries certainly reflect society’s proclivities — curriculum, celebrity and MP3 player.

Professor Alan Smithers from Buckingham University said, “We have a certain Christian narrative which has given meaning to us over the last 2,000 years. To say it is all relative and replaceable is questionable.”

But the ex-president of the Italian senate, Marcello Pera, who is an atheist, went further than that. He says Europe must call itself Christian. “It is the Christian root that can bring all this together,” he said, referring to Europe’s distinct and now multicultural identity.

Pera says it is imperative to question and to know one’s beliefs and identity: “If I do not ask these questions, I do not know how to defend myself from those who attack me and I do not even know what to teach.”

The Christian concept of the human person as created in the image and likeness of God is not something found in other cultures, Pera said. He noted that the concept existed “prior to the state’s intervention,” and that to retreat from Christian principles would be the destruction of Europe's heritage.

On a continent with such diverse cultures as Europe has, the Italian senator and atheist philosopher concludes that it is necessary to find a common patrimony, and that common patrimony is Christianity.

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (3)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Show/Hide comments

Lester said:

oh God! This entire story smacks of double speak. We need "god" to control the masses, but we don't need to speak of God in terms familiar to older generations. The EU wants to keep the "warm and cozy" while forcing Christians to submit to a world that has no God in it. Sound familiar? The USSR allowed the Orthadox Catholic religeon to exist for the sake of control over the masses - the "sheeple." I am not of any denomonation, but am not threatened by God Fearing people. They have been the backbone of what would become America for nearly 300 years.

report abuse vote down vote up

December 15, 2008
Votes: +0

RichardR369 said:

	Manipulation They use churches as a social opium to keep the masses in line with Socialistic ideas. Much like what most churches have become in America. The churches that speak out here are sued out of existence.
	report abuse vote down vote up

December 16, 2008
Votes: +2

Peter Steele said:

RE: Judeo-Christianity I read the Bible and memorize verses such as John 3:16. I find much comfort in my faith and feel very private about it as I have told my fellow congregants that we are each a church with our building a meeting place. In the medieval era, Europe was heavily Christian with the Crusades and the Vatican with a rich tapestry of Judeo-Christian faith. It was in the late 19th Century when the God is Dead movement came about, Europe began to lose its religious heritage - Lenin changed all that as well as Karl Marx who replaced God with man in his manifesto. I am praying for the Europeans as well as our country as far as faith is concerned and I do worry about the Persian Christians in Iraq. It seems that Islam is trying to replace Judeo-Christianity and this is very dangerous, indeed. God is omnipotent and all knowing so He knew my family very well. So did God know Captain John Morrison Birch, USA! Peter F. Steele

report abuse vote down vote up

December 17, 2008
Votes: +1