I'm A Believer!
The Times reports on what many of us know already - that the majority of religious believers also support the right to assisted dying.
Now I've know this for many years because my Mum was a typical 'good' religious person, who didn't try to force her own views down other people's throats, but who believed that in certain circumstances fellow citizens ought to be able to bring their lives to an end.
So it seems that mainstream religious leaders are out of step with their own flocks and need to focus more on listening to what the people have to say on important social issues, and less on telling us all how to run our lives.
Most believers back assisted dying despite opposition of church leaders
Lord Carey has broken ranks with the Church of England to support assisted dying David Bebber/The Times
Church leaders are out of touch with their congregations on the issue of assisted dying, according to research that found about 70 per cent of believers want to see a change in the law.
A majority of Anglicans, Jews and Roman Catholics all want assisted dying for terminally ill people to be legalised, with only Baptists, Muslims and Hindus against a change.
Opposition to legalising assisted suicide from faith leaders has been seen as one of the major obstacles to changing the law. Yet three quarters of Anglicans and two thirds of Catholics back a change, although the figure falls to 44 per cent for the most devout. Among Jewish people, 70 per cent want to see a change. Fewer than a third of Muslims back assisted suicide.
Linda Woodhead, professor of sociology of religion at Lancaster University, conducted the study among 4,500 people of faith. She said the most common reason cited for backing a change in the law was a belief that it was up to the individual how they died. The most common reasons for opposing change were either a fear that it would lead to widespread assisted suicide over time, or that vulnerable people would be pressurised into accepting it. Rarely was sanctity of life mentioned.
“It appears church teaching has not got through. The vast majority of believers are at variance with their leaders,” she said.
“We are used to having more control over our lives and I think that is partly why there is this overwhelming number of people saying that they have a right to decide for themselves.”
A bill that would allow doctors to prescribe lethal doses of drugs to terminally ill patients with only six months to live, if they request them, will be debated in the House of Lords this Friday.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the leader of Catholics in England and Wales, and the Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, are among 23 religious leaders to have signed a joint letter, condemning Lord Falconer’s assisted dying Bill as a “grave error”.
Other signatories include Dr Shuja Shafi, the secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain; Ramesh Pattni, leader of the Hindu Forum of Britain; and Lord Singh, director of the Network of Sikh Organisations. It also emerged last night that 27 senior figures, including 11 present or former presidents of royal medical colleges, have written to every peer urging them to back the Bill. More than 110 peers want to speak in the debate.
The intervention of Lord Carey of Clifton, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, who supports assisted dying, may influence how some peers vote. The Bishop of Buckingham, the Right Rev Alan Wilson, is also in favour. He said honouring the “sanctity of life” included recognising the quality of life of those approaching death.
The church has since said that too many vulnerable people would be put at risk by a change in the law.
The Bishop of Leeds, the Right Rev Nick Baines, said: “The church operates at every level of society, involving not only academic and high-level discourse on serious ethical challenges, but also pastoral attentiveness and care of individuals in every parish .” Popularity did not automatically mean that something was right, he added.
The group of peers opposing the bill have pledged not to wreck it during the debate and will let it pass for consideration at the committee stage.
A majority of Anglicans, Jews and Roman Catholics all want assisted dying for terminally ill people to be legalised, with only Baptists, Muslims and Hindus against a change.
Opposition to legalising assisted suicide from faith leaders has been seen as one of the major obstacles to changing the law. Yet three quarters of Anglicans and two thirds of Catholics back a change, although the figure falls to 44 per cent for the most devout. Among Jewish people, 70 per cent want to see a change. Fewer than a third of Muslims back assisted suicide.
Linda Woodhead, professor of sociology of religion at Lancaster University, conducted the study among 4,500 people of faith. She said the most common reason cited for backing a change in the law was a belief that it was up to the individual how they died. The most common reasons for opposing change were either a fear that it would lead to widespread assisted suicide over time, or that vulnerable people would be pressurised into accepting it. Rarely was sanctity of life mentioned.
“It appears church teaching has not got through. The vast majority of believers are at variance with their leaders,” she said.
“We are used to having more control over our lives and I think that is partly why there is this overwhelming number of people saying that they have a right to decide for themselves.”
A bill that would allow doctors to prescribe lethal doses of drugs to terminally ill patients with only six months to live, if they request them, will be debated in the House of Lords this Friday.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the leader of Catholics in England and Wales, and the Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, are among 23 religious leaders to have signed a joint letter, condemning Lord Falconer’s assisted dying Bill as a “grave error”.
Other signatories include Dr Shuja Shafi, the secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain; Ramesh Pattni, leader of the Hindu Forum of Britain; and Lord Singh, director of the Network of Sikh Organisations. It also emerged last night that 27 senior figures, including 11 present or former presidents of royal medical colleges, have written to every peer urging them to back the Bill. More than 110 peers want to speak in the debate.
The intervention of Lord Carey of Clifton, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, who supports assisted dying, may influence how some peers vote. The Bishop of Buckingham, the Right Rev Alan Wilson, is also in favour. He said honouring the “sanctity of life” included recognising the quality of life of those approaching death.
The church has since said that too many vulnerable people would be put at risk by a change in the law.
The Bishop of Leeds, the Right Rev Nick Baines, said: “The church operates at every level of society, involving not only academic and high-level discourse on serious ethical challenges, but also pastoral attentiveness and care of individuals in every parish .” Popularity did not automatically mean that something was right, he added.
The group of peers opposing the bill have pledged not to wreck it during the debate and will let it pass for consideration at the committee stage.
