UK government to require registration of all religious leaders
by: J. D. Heyes
NaturalNews.com
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
In September 1620, pilgrims from England set sail for the “new world,” hoping to find new opportunities and escape religious persecution. Today, hundreds of years later, its possible British subjects might once again be forced to flee religious oppression.
Canada’s National Post reports that religious figures throughout Britain – imams, priests, rabbis and others – are being forced to enroll in a “national register of faith leaders” and be required to undergo government-specified training and security checks under the guise of combating “extremism.”
A leaked draft of the program has become a highly controversial addition to the British government’s new counter-extremism strategy, and it apparently goes much further than previous versions, the Post reported, citing details from The Sunday Telegraph.
The strategy, which is due to be formally published this fall, says the British Home Office will “require all faiths to maintain a national register of faith leaders” and that the government plans to “set out the minimum level of training and checks” that all faith leaders must obtain.
The Post further noted:
Registration will be compulsory for all faith leaders who wish to work with the public sector, including universities, the document says. In practice, most faith leaders have some dealings with the public sector and the requirement will cover the great majority. The move marks a significant deepening of the state’s involvement in religion and is likely to be resisted by many religious representatives.
Permission to preach
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