on Faith, Freedom and Public Life

A call to the UK Government, to leaders in public and academic life, and to our fellow citizens, to 
respect human dignity and freedom of conscience, to bring a moral compass to public life and 

institutions, and to plan for the nation’s future.

Our Purpose 

In 2010 leaders from across the Christian traditions released the Westminster Declaration. 
In light of developments since then, it is time to renew this call.

Some of the choices made by Parliament and others in authority about the nature of human life, 
family relationships, sex education in schools, end-of-life care, and the use and development of new technologies are having serious consequences. By ignoring Britain’s Christian heritage we have endangered human life, weakened society, and created a fragmented nation uncoupled from its formative traditions, and without a unifying vision for its future.

1. FREEDOM OF BELIEF AND OF CONSCIENCE

It is in this context that we pledge to uphold Christian truth and values, as set out in the Bible and in the teaching of the Church down the ages; truth and values which have long been the basis of UK national life. We affirm the right of Christian leaders to guide believers in every aspect of this teaching.

We uphold freedom of religion and belief for all, as enshrined in Human Rights law. This means the freedom to manifest and practise our faith in public and in private, and a reasonable accommodation of this in the workplace. Individuals have a right to change their faith or beliefs, freely and without coercion.

Religion is a protected characteristic, of equal standing with the eight other characteristics stated as having protection under law. We oppose therefore any attempt to subordinate religious freedom to the demands of activist or political groups seeking to assert dominance. We believe in freedom of conscience.

Democracy in Britain was founded upon Christian beliefs about human dignity and equality. For that democracy to survive –– free of coercion by those now actively seeking to reframe our society and culture – and for the wellbeing of all, we urge that freedoms of belief, of conscience, and of speech, be protectedthrough legislation and policy.

2. THE VALUE OF HUMAN LIFE

All human beings are made in the divine image, and invested with dignity, equality and freedom. The ancient Hippocratic Oath and the teaching of the Bible and the Church assert the value of every human being from life’s earliest beginnings to its natural end. We oppose the termination of life in the womb,whether by pharmaceutical or surgical intervention. Accordingly, there must be freedom of conscience for medical, administrative and other staff to decline participation in any procedure relating to abortion, including handling aborted foetuses, or stem cells derived from the destruction of embryos. 

Further we oppose the causing or hastening of death by pharmaceutical means or by the withdrawal of nutrition and water. This is contrary to Christian belief, and alien to a civilized society. At the end of life, while it is permissible to administer analgesics with the sole purpose of relieving pain, the intentional causing or hastening of death by any means, direct or indirect, is unacceptable to Christian consciences.We are praying that assisted suicide will not become law, but if it does, consciences of Christians and others should similarly be protected from having to take part in any procedure the intent of which is to cause or hasten death. There should also be exemption for faith-run institutions, such as care homes, from allowing assisted suicide to take place on their premises.

We recognise that physicians can sometimes make mistakes in diagnosis, and place patients prematurely on end-of-life care; ongoing assessment and review of such diagnoses should, therefore, be a matter of course. Better awareness is needed for medical and auxiliary staff in the physical and spiritual care of, for example, parents, in cases of still birth or other trauma; and of dying patients and their families. (Young staff in particular may need greater support in these areas.)  We agree with the proposed Patient Care Bill of Rights, 2013, which was quietly ignored by the NHS, that hydration and nutrition should not be withdrawn. Further, the 2013 Aintree v James Supreme Court ruling on consultation with families should be closely observed. Palliative care services must be widely extended beyond cancer, MND and AIDS.

We urge the hospice movement, whether in conventional hospices or at home, to recover and renew its Christian-inspired vision of caring for patients until the natural end of life, without being party to any attempt to hasten death.

3. MARRIAGE, FAMILY AND CHILDREN 

We believe the normative and best expression of family is the marriage of a man and woman bound together in a lifelong union for mutual love and support and the raising of children. We are concerned at the number of children raised by couples who have not made a public lifelong commitment to one another in marriage, whether civil or religious, or raised by those who choose to be single parents. Marriage benefitshusband and wife, their children, and wider society, in ways that no other arrangement can replicate.

We deplore the current epidemic of family instability which causes so much harm to children. We call for policies and legislation which strengthen marriage and family life, and we reject ideologies which weaken family ties by falsely claiming that other types of relationship are of equivalent value to marriage. While affirming the importance of mothers and fathers jointly raising children, we also believe that those who find themselves single parents deserve society’s support.

Young children in particular need their mothers, and we urge employers to explore creative ways of allowing parents to spend more time with their children.

Separation and divorce, except in cases of serious conflict and violence, have a profoundly negative effect on the upbringing of children. We are concerned that they have become too easily available and have been normalised. We call on the government and on civil society to promote marriage as a lasting commitment, and to develop fiscal and other policies which support and encourage marriage and family life.

4. PARENTS AND SCHOOL EDUCATION

Parents or guardians have primary responsibility for their children’s education and upbringing. Parents must, therefore, have the right to withdraw children from teaching which conflicts with their beliefs and values.

Schools should have a duty to teach clearly about the role of the family. While children need to be taught about different beliefs, values and lifestyles in our plural society, this is not the same as promoting various lifestyle and sexual ideologies, such as are being disseminated in schools. Training teachers to understand the traditional view of the family, and ensuring that view is taught in classrooms, is vital for the wellbeing of our children. This includes teaching the normative role of marriage between a man and a woman in raising and nurturing children, and in sustaining family life.

Education for its own sake broadens the minds of pupils and enriches their lives. We believe there should be a balance in teaching children skills needed for employment, such as IT and business studies, and a knowledge of our history, literature and art which can provide them with appreciation of our rich cultural heritage.

5. BIOLOGICAL SEX AND GENDER

We affirm the givenness of biological sex: the complementarity of men and women serves as a clear model for children and young people, as they mature in their understanding of their sexuality. Compassion for those confused about their gender is, however, a Christian duty, willingly undertaken. Now that theSupreme Court has ruled that the terms ‘man’ and ‘woman’ in the 2010 Equality Act refer to biological sex, the Department of Education must ensure that classroom teaching reflects this ruling.

6. THE ROLE OF THE UNIVERSITY

Universities have sprung from Christian roots. We uphold the need for freedom of speech and of belief among faculty and students as central to the true purpose of education; both ‘group think’ and ‘cancel culture’ are mortal threats to that purpose and are leading to the closing of the western mind. Such anunderstanding of the vocation of universities needs re-emphasis today.

University research in science and technology is now closely tied to sponsorship from industry, thus bringing the provision of funding. We would encourage universities to consider ways in which they could benefit the nation by research which is applied to wider, non-profit societal concerns.

7. AI AND MORAL REFLECTION

Like other inventions, AI is a result of human imagination, which arises from the creativity of human beings,made in the image of their Creator, even if such human creativity is touched by human fallenness and imperfection.

In itself, AI is a powerful though morally-neutral tool. In some areas it already surpasses human abilities but AI will never ‘think’ as we do, because our thoughts arise from a synthesis of our physical being, intellect, reason, soul, and relationships. Its ‘facts’ depend on citations, regardless of their authority; its algorithms reinforce beliefs, leaving minds unchallenged.

While bringing much benefit to the practice of medical science, engineering, and many other professions, we must be mindful that AI can never attain the ability of moral discernment, nor will it ever be able to empathise or establish authentic relationships. If we believe we are relating to a fellow person, we have become fools.

Rapid innovation in AI offers little time for moral judgment or spiritual reflection. We call on the government to provide for oversight of its development by an inter-disciplinary body to include Christians trained in moral thinking and decision making. This body could ensure that innovation is tested with discretion and does not take place in a moral and spiritual vacuum, especially where it affects human life, relationships, children’s education and development, and the dignity of work.

It is our prayer that even at this late hour, our nation will heed the wisdom of its past, formed, as it has been, by the Bible and by Christian teaching; and that parents and educators will work to shape mature and strong consciences, and that marriage and family will once again be recognised as central to our nation’s good.

We commend this cumulative wisdom to our Government and to our fellow citizens, even as we claim it for ourselves.                                                                                         

Westminster, 20 September 2025