Politics, politics, politics (so long and thanks for all the fish)

[Silly McSilly Face]

I would guess it means different things to different people, but I would saying being English/British is about politeness, being a nation with liberal values and norms, being a mostly secular nation, a tradition of literary and musical heritage, football/sport.

I think there is anger towards the government for immigration. But also for the asylum seekers themselves. I think most right thinking people just want people who come here to work hard and also to learn and speak the language. It always annoys me when Brits go abroad and make no effort to speak the lingo, just learning the basics like “please” “good afternoon” “thank you” and “can I have the bill please” go a long way with the locals in any country I find. And it’s equally annoying when people come to this country and speak little or poor English.

Britain isn't a secular nation and never has been. In fact, up until the 17th century religious minorities (mostly Catholics) were actively persecuted by Parliament with a variety of laws passed to deny them basic rights.

However, from the 18th century the rights of "non-conformists" have been recognised and protected.

Constitutionally the country isn't officially or legally aligned to a particular religion, largely because there is no written constitution but the Monarch (head of state) is the Govenor and head of The Church of England. The Church have permanent representation in the House of Lords and state schools align to the church of England in terms of ritual prayer and calendar events.

But I wouldn't say secularism or tolerance for religious diversity characterises British culture. You only have to see the recent (within a few hundred years) persecution of Catholics and the still-current issues with sectarian violence particularly in Scotland and Northern Ireland to evidence that.

If i was to think of countries whose values are actively secular i'd think of France and Turkey as two examples...

 

[Jurgen the German]

Britain isn't a secular nation and never has been. In fact, up until the 17th century religious minorities (mostly Catholics) were actively persecuted by Parliament with a variety of laws passed to deny them basic rights.

However, from the 18th century the rights of "non-conformists" have been recognised and protected.

Constitutionally the country isn't officially or legally aligned to a particular religion, largely because there is no written constitution but the Monarch (head of state) is the Govenor and head of The Church of England. The Church have permanent representation in the House of Lords and state schools align to the church of England in terms of ritual prayer and calendar events.

But I wouldn't say secularism or tolerance for religious diversity characterises British culture. You only have to see the recent (within a few hundred years) persecution of Catholics and the still-current issues with sectarian violence particularly in Scotland and Northern Ireland to evidence that.

If i was to think of countries whose values are actively secular i'd think of France and Turkey as two examples...

Maybe not officially as the king is head of the Church of England for example. But unofficially we are not a religious country compared to America or even our European counterparts like Italy.

 

[johnola]

Maybe not officially as the king is head of the Church of England for example. But unofficially we are not a religious country compared to America or even our European counterparts like Italy.

We are a Christian nation where the Churches role has been taken over by government and the link to the past via scripture is gone.

And now people are not reminded every Sunday to be kind and help others. Nor that helping others is rarely letting them do whatever the hell they like.

The modern equivalent to heaven now is a 45 year civil service pension.

 

[Jurgen the German]

Being polite isn't a British value. It's pretty global dude. Liberal values is too broad. How does someone who needs to learn the language know what they have to do to keep the locals from burning stuff down other than break the law is my question.

And language. It takes time to learn. And ability. Not everyone has that.

Being overly polite is a British thing I’d say. Maybe not uniquely British but we are known for being reserved and polite. Liberal values in the sense of how we typically treat women, minorities, our views on equality etc. I honestly don’t know how to answer the part of I highlighted in bold.