Rev Michael Nazir-Ali: Britons suffer 'cultural amnesia' about Christian art
Britons are suffering from "cultural amnesia" about the Christian origins of the country's art, music and language, a senior bishop has warned.
The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali said the works of Shakespeare or Milton could not have been written without the English translation of the Bible and the publication of the Book of Common Prayer, while great paintings and pieces of music were inspired by Christianity and made to be showcased in churches and cathedrals.
Yet he claimed many people are now ignorant of the religious background to our culture.
His comments, part of a speech he gave to members of the Prayer Book Society, come after he warned that Britishness itself is being destroyed by the decline of Christian values, creating a "moral vacuum" that is being filled by radical Islam.
Dr Nazir-Ali, who was born in Pakistan, said: "What amazes me is how people in this country don't take account of the brute fact that the Bible and the prayer book have shaped so much of its literary and cultural achievements.
"Without the translation of the Bible into English and the creation of the prayer book, it would have been impossible to have a Donne or a Shakespeare or a Milton.
There I go again. Forgetting to be a racist.... So hard to keep up.
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