Suchet, star of ITV’s "Poirot," told Woman’s Weekly magazine that a charity he worked for had been recently turned down for government funding “because it was a Christian charity, even though it had been funded by the Government for several years.”
“I do feel that Christianity is being marginalized by other religions in Britain,” said Suchet, who was confirmed two years ago.
“Don’t misunderstand me. We should embrace all religions and marginalize none,” he told the magazine. “But we seem more concerned with marginalizing Christianity, and not offending other faiths."
“We are in danger of losing the importance of the Christian faith in our own country,” he said.
Suchet is the narrator of a new audio version of The Jesus Storybook Bible, released this month.
His comments come amid concerns that Harriet Harman’s Equality Bill may lead to a ban on Christmas.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales told MPs last week that the bill could lead to town halls and other organizations canceling nativity plays and other Christian events.
“Under existing legislation, we have seen the development of a risk-averse culture with outcomes as ridiculous as reports of a local authority instructing tenants to take down Christmas lights in case they might offend Muslim neighbors, or of authorities removing the word Christmas out of cultural sensitivity to everyone except Christians,” they told the parliamentary committee examining the bill.
“If this bill is serious about equality, everything possible must be done to avoid it having a ‘chilling effect’ on religious expression and practice.”
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