St Luke's Church Eccleshill - Articles from "The Link"

In our "Questions to the clergy" slot, John will try to answer any query you throw at him, without hesitation, deviation or repetition...

Sharia Law?

Q. What do you think about what the Archbishop of Canterbury said about incorporating Sharia Law into English Law?

A. Well, I can’t duck this question because so many people have asked me, but I haven’t got a very good answer. I have read what he said and listened to him at General Synod, but I’m not much wiser. It was an academic legal lecture, and I don’t understand it fully.

The Archbishop did not say that provisions of Sharia Law ought to be incorporated into English Law. I don’t think Sharia Law should be incorporated into English Law, and neither does he.

I think he did say two things:

First, there have always been people who have wanted to abide by their own religious laws as well as by the law of the land, and that’s fine as long as they don’t conflict. For instance, Roman Catholics can get divorced in civil courts and remarried in register offices, but most of them would prefer to have their marriages annulled by the RC Church so that they can remain in communion with their church. That’s fine, and it’s legal as long as they remember to do both.

And second, if a law is seen as unworkable and unlivable with, then it brings the whole legal system into contempt and it needs changing. Like the Blasphemy laws, for instance. So there’s a risk that if we simply outlaw various good things that religious people want to live by, we’ll alienate them. Law has to take account of how life is.

Well, I think both of these are good sense, and I agree with the Archbishop on both of them.

I think the whole fracas shows one thing up very clearly. If you’re a public figure, you have to manage your dealings with the press, and most clergy aren’t very good at this. The newspapers got hold of the wrong end of the stick with this story - but I think they did that because the Archbishop hadn’t written a simple press release to explain in everyday language what he was on about. Yes, it is a complicated and subtle subject, but that doesn’t excuse us clergy from cutting to the quick and giving a basic outline of what we are trying to say.

At General Synod I proposed that there should be schemes for ministerial review of all clergy. If we are poor at handling the media, who will point that out to us and help us to improve? A proper system of feedback would help us all address our weak areas.

John Hartley

	*St Luke's Church, Eccleshill - The Link* magazine** The Link is published monthly at 40p (Senior Citizens 35p), and we deliver free within the parish and post copies (at the reader's expense) to those who request it. Please contact us if you would like a free copy for a trial period. March 2008, Page 6.
Home Page. Index of articles: by subject, by date. In this issue: (March 2008) Resurrection, Hymn, Revision, Question, Ecumenism. Other questions.	In our "Questions to the clergy" slot, John will try to answer any query you throw at him, without hesitation, deviation or repetition... Sharia Law? Q. What do you think about what the Archbishop of Canterbury said about incorporating Sharia Law into English Law? A. Well, I can’t duck this question because so many people have asked me, but I haven’t got a very good answer. I have read what he said and listened to him at General Synod, but I’m not much wiser. It was an academic legal lecture, and I don’t understand it fully. The Archbishop did not say that provisions of Sharia Law ought to be incorporated into English Law. I don’t think Sharia Law should be incorporated into English Law, and neither does he. I think he did say two things: First, there have always been people who have wanted to abide by their own religious laws as well as by the law of the land, and that’s fine as long as they don’t conflict. For instance, Roman Catholics can get divorced in civil courts and remarried in register offices, but most of them would prefer to have their marriages annulled by the RC Church so that they can remain in communion with their church. That’s fine, and it’s legal as long as they remember to do both. And second, if a law is seen as unworkable and unlivable with, then it brings the whole legal system into contempt and it needs changing. Like the Blasphemy laws, for instance. So there’s a risk that if we simply outlaw various good things that religious people want to live by, we’ll alienate them. Law has to take account of how life is. Well, I think both of these are good sense, and I agree with the Archbishop on both of them. I think the whole fracas shows one thing up very clearly. If you’re a public figure, you have to manage your dealings with the press, and most clergy aren’t very good at this. The newspapers got hold of the wrong end of the stick with this story - but I think they did that because the Archbishop hadn’t written a simple press release to explain in everyday language what he was on about. Yes, it is a complicated and subtle subject, but that doesn’t excuse us clergy from cutting to the quick and giving a basic outline of what we are trying to say. At General Synod I proposed that there should be schemes for ministerial review of all clergy. If we are poor at handling the media, who will point that out to us and help us to improve? A proper system of feedback would help us all address our weak areas. John Hartley
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