Bible Banning?

As reported by Huffington post, Aberystywth University is set to consider a proposal to remove Gideons Bibles from it’s student accommodation study bedrooms. This is following a survey by the Student Union in which found that only 4% of students believed that having the bible in their room was a “good idea.”

Well let me tell you now, I have never been so offended; so utterly outraged, by the response of Christian student Jessica Hearne, who used the excuse that the UK is a Christian country. The UK is in fact a country that guarantees freedom of religion to all; you are free to believe in whatever you choose or not believe in any of it. I am British and am not a Christian, nor am I Jewish, Muslim or any religion you could name. I find it completely it unacceptably rude for this young lady to suggest that my nationality has anything to do with any religion.

Her argument is also a colossal straw man. Let me sum it up basically “Only 4% of students living in university accommodation think that having a bible in their room is a good thing, so we’re going to consider removing them.”

“Well you can’t because we’re a Christian country.”

Do you see how irrelevant that response is? This isn’t about whether the UK’s national identity is intrinsically linked to one specific religion. This is about a survey that said, overall, students weren’t comfortable with a bible being put in their room without their consent. Also, in what way does removing the Gideons Bible from a student bedroom stop a devout Christian from practicing their religion. Seriously; I’ve never met a devout Christian who didn’t own their own copy of the bible.

The Christian Institute have also responded, stating that they find it hard to see how someone could be offended by a bible being in their room. This demonstrates a huge amount of arrogance on their part. Of course there’s no way that a symbol of our religion could possibly offend anyone; when has Christianity ever said or done anything offensive?

You want to be offended by the fact that your special book could be removed from student bedrooms; feel free. But don’t act like there’s a reason it shouldn’t be, especially in the face of evidence that only 4% of the people involved are behind you on that.