Lesbian Archbishop of Wales elected, Christians against Islamophobia definition, National Trust bias against Christians…
by Andrew Halloway.
Lesbian archbishop says people are leaving Church in Wales over her sexuality.
The first openly lesbian archbishop in Christian history says some people have left her church because they disagree with her gender and sexuality. The Most Rev Cherry Vann told the BBC: “The Church in Wales is working hard to welcome LGBT+ people, but also I respect that there are people in the Church in Wales who find that really difficult. Some, sadly, have felt the need to leave and I take that very seriously.” She also said that some people “continue to struggle with women in leadership”. (Photo – The Most Rev Cherry Elizabeth Vann was named the 15th Archbishop of Wales in July)
“Another painful nail in the coffin of Anglican orthodoxy”
The Global Anglican Communion is also splintering due to the appointment of Dame Sarah Mullally as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury, who has also expressed support for homosexuality. According to the Christian Post, the Most Rev Laurent Mbanda, chairman of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (GAFCON) Primates Council, described Vann’s election as “an act of apostasy” and “another painful nail in the coffin of Anglican orthodoxy”. He also warned that Romans 1:26 teaches that widespread homosexuality is a sign of divine judgment upon a society.
Archbishop Vann told Premier Christian News she had always believed she was gay and “never heard God say to me, who you are is wrong, who you love is wrong, you are living in sin.”
Christians and Hindus unite against ‘Islamophobia’ definition
The Government has produced a new definition of anti-Muslim prejudice in place of ‘Islamophobia’.
The term ‘Islamophobia’ could not be used because it breached the Equality Act. The Government’s latest proposal, which was leaked, is to replace the word ‘Islamophobia’ with ‘Anti-Muslim hatred or hostility’.
Both Christian and Hindu leaders have warned that this threatens religious freedom and free speech.
Alicia Edmund, head of public policy at the Evangelical Alliance, told Christian Daily International: “Any definition must make a distinction between fair critique of a belief system and tackling hostility and violence towards individuals – without undermining freedom of expression.”
The Government’s proposal “risks serious unintended consequences”
The Hindu Council’s Dipen Rajyaguru has written to Communities Minister Steve Reed, describing the Government’s proposal as “deeply flawed” and which “risks serious unintended consequences”.
Tim Dieppe of Christian Concern told a Christians Together webinar: “There’s no definition of ‘hostility’ in law. The proposed definition also includes “prejudicial stereotyping’ and ‘biases in institutions’. Does this mean not allowing Muslim prayers?”
Dieppe also quoted Baroness Falkner, who was chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission until December 2025, who had pointed out that Muslims enjoyed more freedoms in Britain than in most countries and that the proposed law would make them part of a political experiment.
National Trust’s bias against Christianity
Last year the National Trust was castigated by Christians for refusing to allow a Christian film maker to use the site of St Cuthbert’s Cave in Northumbria to make a documentary about the saint’s life. Permission was denied on the grounds of ‘religious affiliation’.
Now Voice for Justice (VFJ) has revealed that the Trust has removed the Christian festivals of Christmas and Easter from its ‘inclusivity and wellbeing’ calendar, replacing them with the Hindu festival of Diwali and the Muslim festivals of Eid and Ramadan.
VFJ also reports that following their complaint, the Trust has removed a video showing a Ramadan walk and retreat at Trust property Ilam Park, in Derbyshire. Footage included attendees kneeling to pray in the park’s grounds.
Andrew Halloway is a British freelance editor, writer and publishing consultant. He is also editor of Good News—a national monthly evangelistic newspaper (www.goodnews-paper.org.uk). Andrew has 18 years’ experience as an editor and publishing manager in the Christian publishing world, and holds a first class honours degree in Humanities. He has long had an interest in the creation/evolution debate, and is the contributing editor of ‘The Delusion of Evolution’, a magazine-style evangelistic booklet that has sold over 23,000 copies in the UK (available from www.newlife.co.uk).