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Bideford was in the news in 1682 when three women, the last to meet this fate, were hanged

there as witches. Now Bideford has hit the headlines again. For years the Town Council there like many others has begun its meetings with prayers. But lately these prayers have been ruled illegal by a judge after an action by the National Secular Society. The government in the form of Communities Secretary Eric Pickles then reversed this by recourse to fine print in other legislation. The issue may well be subject to yet further legal action. There was of course a simple way out of the problem short of invoking legislation. Prayers could have been held perfectly legally before meetings formally begin. But then they would have been private prayers, not part of the councils proceedings. The common sense solution did not appeal because its really a debate about the part that religion should play in public life. On the one hand there are those who say that Britain is a Christian country; this is true historically and constitutionally. Christianity has been a monopoly religion for much of our modern history and the protestant Church of England the established church. The Queen reigns as both head of state and head of the Church of England. That the Queen herself is a deeply convinced Christian is really beside the point. Prince Charles has said he would wish to be a Defender of All Faiths, not just one. On the other hand we have the view that ours is a society of many faiths, a consequence in some measure of immigration over the years. But our society is also largely non-religious or secular. Though it is the dominant organised religion Christian churchgoing is a minority activity. Certainly many of us will say C of E when asked in a census or on admission to hospital but this is probably for want of anything else to say. On this view public life, including Bideford Town Council, should exclude prayers because they grant a sectional religion an unwarranted special place in public life. In the turbulent seventeenth century Quakers and many others fought and suffered for their right to worship as they wished. They objected to an over-mighty state claiming God was exclusively on the side of worldly power and could prescribe the how, where and when of worship. In effect the Quakers were secularists, believing that religion and religious organisations should be distinct and separate from the state. Religion for them was a matter between individuals and their maker. There was bitter theological and political dispute and many Quakers suffered in prison for their freedom to worship in their own way. I dont think anything similar will befall Bideford councillors or their opponents. But at root its the same old argument. We will continue to muddle along. Meanwhile I have a solution that may meet the needs of all parties. Lets have a period of silence as Item One on council agendas. In this time everyone present can pray or reflect each in their own way. Maybe then we wont hear from Bideford for another three hundred years. Michael Golby Quaker Chaplain, Exeter University

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