Prince William reflects 'DISCOMFORT with Christianity in UK’: William WO...

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now is Prince William going to make

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history by becoming the first British

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monarch since Henry VII to break

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official ties with the church of England

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by not being its head that's right

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William attends services at significant

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times of the year such as Christmas and

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Easter but he's not a regular churchgoer

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which you to for we chat me to the queen

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to Queen Elizabeth second Dr Gary Ashton

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Dr Ashton morning to you now this has

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come out of Robert harbin's excellent

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book on the the monarchy he as you know

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he's got impeccable Royal sources and he

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says William does feel uh close to the

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church he doesn't have the same Faith as

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either his father or his grandmother and

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therefore he may not take on that role

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as effectively governor of the Church of

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England what do you make of

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that I think it's very interesting and

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it's almost certainly true William

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doesn't show any signs of being alive to

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the vibrancy of Christian faith and in

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that sense he's very representative of

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his generation but I don't think he

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understands the monarchy because um

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although lots of people have talked

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about disestablishing the Church of

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England and changing our constitutional

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Arrangements they're immensely complex

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and they go back through 500 years of

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legislation what we could do is have a

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referendum and have a have a republic

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and start all over again uh lots of

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countries do that but unpicking and

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unwinding our present arrangements are

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simply beyond the scope of of our

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resources it would take an army of

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lawyers 10 years to do it so I think he

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either has to accept the fact that this

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is role he plays whether he likes it or

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not which is part actually of the burden

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of monarchy or if he feels that strongly

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and he can't do it then step aside and

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abdicate and see if there's somebody

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else in the Raw succession who

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can he's reflecting the public view

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isn't he Dr ashendon because so few

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people now go to church particularly

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people of Prince William's age isn't

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that more a reflection on how the church

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has so manifestly

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failed oh well it's failed in this

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country absolutely but it's it's immense

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it's growing like wildfire in other

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parts of the world it's just that

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secular Europe has lost the faith and is

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replacing it effectively with with

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wokery if you like um so uh it's hard to

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know where how much the church has

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failed and how much the people don't

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want something that disturbs our um our

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enjoyment of life um when people come

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close to death suddenly it looks a bit

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different but but it's certainly true

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that he's reflecting a a discomfort with

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with with Christianity in Europe but I

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think that's to his loss and our loss I

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don't think I don't think it's a virtue

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I mean not knowing what what what you're

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doing here as a human being is not a

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strength of character Dr Rashon one

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religion which is not failing to make

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moves in this country make ways in this

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country actually is Islam and we've got

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a case in the high court this week of a

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head teacher who's been taken to to

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court because the Muslim pupils want her

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to provide a space that they can

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pray where would you sit on that debate

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do you think that those Muslim children

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should be given a space to pray in that

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school I'd go back further and talk

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about the equalities legislation that we

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Face the problem is it it's it's a

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secular and blunt instrument and it

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treats all religion as though they're

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the same but they're not at all the same

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I mean for example when Christians try

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and pray in this country on Pavements

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near abortion clinics they get arrested

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even though they're praying quietly and

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silently but when Muslims want to pray

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they they block the streets outside

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Downing Street and pray in great numbers

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in public uh and they're they're praised

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is a civic virtue um I think that the

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head mistress in this particular case

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has decided that public displays of

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spirituality by Muslims are not

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unconnected with an element of display

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of power and influence in society that's

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how Islam uses its prayer often in

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public so it's so when Muslims pray it's

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different from when Jews pray it's

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different from when Christians pray we

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should treat them on their merits if the

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P mistress in this case thinks it's

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producing a degree of social disruption

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I think she's perfectly entitled to want

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to run a school without social

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disruption we can all pray privately uh

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in our homes as most of us those of us

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who prayed do anyway and and and the

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school is in London it's which is one of

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the most diverse parts of the country if

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if if she agree to give a a prayer room

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for the Muslims then if you've got

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Jewish children in that school or Hindu

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children in that school can they have a

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temple please can they have a mini

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synagogue where where does it

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end I think it's worse than that I mean

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that you're right that's the first

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argument but the next argument is what's

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it being used for the difficulty I have

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with Islam I mean Islam is a very

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muscular religion it's spreading as you

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quite rightly say like wildf far uh

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we've seen the effect on the streets

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during the the demonstrations about Gaza

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Islam is not shy and it's very capable

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of exercising all its rights I'm afraid

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I think in a school context uh this

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quest to give is Islam a particular

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public place in the life of the school

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actually is detrimental to other

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religions I mean for example the

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arguments in high court are that Muslim

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Students feel ashamed of being a Muslim

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in the school actually if I was a Jew in

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that school I'd feel rather threatened

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by displays of public Islamic

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spirituality so I think we have to

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ignore the equalities legislation which

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binds us if only we could and actually

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come to decisions based on the merits of

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each case and in this particular case I

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don't think that the people pushing the

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right Islamic rights at the school um

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are

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Justified do you think that's something

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that you can freely say anywhere Gavin I

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think it's it is a controversial thing

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to say well well we're pleased that you

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can say it here because above all else

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this channel is about free speech and

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having the difficult conversations if

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you were doing an interview on say the

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BBC would you find that a difficult

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position to

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take it's not allowed we can't say it I

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mean actually I have quite a lot of

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experience I taught Islam at one of our

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universities I was part of a multifaith

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team which I ran I'm really quite well

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informed uh but if I if I explain for

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example that my Muslim friends say that

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they came to this country with the

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explicit intention of within two

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generations of making it the Islamic

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Republic of Great Britain that's what

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they told me I would be be accused of

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being islamophobic but but Islam tells

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us that's what it wants to do the

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islamification the whole of Europe is

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underway what's absolutely crazy is that

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the rest of us aren't allowed to talk

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about it or even say as a Christian I'd

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like to say you know if you're going to

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choose a religion here's why I Think

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Jesus is more attractive than Muhammad

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and and give some very cogent reasons

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for it but you're not allowed even to

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have the conversation in public lest in

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terms of equalities legislation you're

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thought to be being close-minded about

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the virtues of what they present

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actually what we should be being is

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open-minded and talking about it so that

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we can evaluate it and then those those

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who want to be Muslims let them be so

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but we must have a public discussion

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about the virtues of different religions

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and find ways of bringing people

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together rather than a of course do you

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make the book you can always do it here

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Dr ashington which is why we love having

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you on congratulations news absolutely

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thank you very kind Dr Gavin Ashton who

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was of course chap to her green who I

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think would be very upset to think her

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grandson would not want to carry on in

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that role which he performed with

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distinction but he is a man of a

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different generation and uh he reflects

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I think what most people think today

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about the modern

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Church