Tim Farron just resigned as leader of the U.K.s Liberal Democratic party, and his statement explaining why should enter the history books: To be a political leader especially of a progressive, liberal party in 2017 and to live as a committed Christian, to hold faithfully to the Bibles teaching, has felt impossible for me, Farron said.
And so hes off.
The obvious rejoinder to Farrons statement is that he had to resign because he had a disastrous electoral showing. And to a degree, that is true. The Lib Dems have seemingly lost their political base in the last two elections. David Camerons modernizing of the Tories took one bite out of it. And Jeremy Corbyn has done a remarkable job consolidating the anti-Tory vote under Labour. Perhaps the Lib Dem strategy of making itself the party of die-hard Remainers actually hurt it when it seemed like the rest of the political class had moved on.
But part of the disastrous campaign for the Lib Dems was the fact that its leader was constantly interrogated for his religious beliefs, beliefs that had little to do with his public leadership. Farron had a long record of supporting gay rights and access to abortion. But the media wanted to know whether he thought they were sins. Farron would get on television wanting to talk up a second referendum to be held upon the results of Brexit negotiations. His media inquisitors wanted to talk about personal morality.
Guardian columnist Rafael Behr explains that Farrons problem was that the culture of contemporary liberalism is avowedly secular. That tells part of the story. The entire elite culture and much of the popular culture is secular in a quite specific way. It is not a secularism that encourages public neutrality while maintaining a generous social pluralism. Its a secularism that demands the humiliation of religion, specifically Christianity. And in Britain it has a decidedly classist flavor, one that holds it impossible for an Evangelical like Farron one of those people to represent the better sort of person.
This secularism is not without its sacred ground and hierarchical order. Farrons religious beliefs may be publicly interrogated, even if he has an immaculate history of quarantining them lest they contaminate his liberalism. Farrons beliefs are subject to casual public ridicule. If Tim Farron wanted his religion to be unreservedly praised in the British media, we all know what he had to do: Convert to Islam and blow up a few teenage girls. 2017 is the year we learned every Farron interview inspires people to kick Christianity and every terrorist attack starts a wave of public proclamations about the beauty of true Islam.
We live in an age in which our liberal media elite and most people who call themselves Christian in social surveys treat liberalism and Christianity as strangers to themselves and each other. Farron sought relief from his public trial by recalling the proud history of his faith in the reformation of British politics. No one wanted to hear it. He called upon the decency and forbearance that are supposed to mark British society. There is none left.
Unlike Tim Farron, I think the creative tension between political liberalism and Christian orthodoxy has ceased to be creative and is now just tension. But it is hard not to respect his witness. Today is the day Tim Farron landed on a truth in his statement: We are kidding ourselves if we think we yet live in a tolerant, liberal society. The truth has set him free.
READ MORE: Democrats to Pro-Lifers: You Are Unwanted and May Be Discarded Editorial: Trumps Half-Measure on Religious Liberty Will Trump Confront Renewed Religious Repression in Russia?
Michael Brendan Dougherty is a senior writer for National Review Online.
Excerpt from:
Tim Farron's Resignation and the End of Liberal Christianity - National Review
- Paul Krugman - The Conscience of a Liberal [Last Updated On: December 11th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 11th, 2016]
- Liberal Democrat Voice [Last Updated On: December 11th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 11th, 2016]
- Urban Dictionary : liberal [Last Updated On: December 12th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 12th, 2016]
- READ MORE : Liberal groups want delay of Sessions' hearing [Last Updated On: January 5th, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 5th, 2017]
- What Is a Liberal - What Is Liberal Bias [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2017]
- Liberal Party of Australia - Wikipedia [Last Updated On: February 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 1st, 2017]
- Conservatives reject liberal humor in Trump era: Dave Berg - USA TODAY [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Liberal Judicial Activism Borders On Insurrection - Daily Caller [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Liberal Fake News Reportedly Growing - Yahoo News [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- House Science Chairman Sees Liberal Cover-Up on Warming Pause - Scientific American [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Furious Liberal MPs turn on 'rat' Cory Bernardi - The Australian Financial Review [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- 'Rallying point': Abbott to headline conservative Liberal fundraiser in Melbourne - The Age [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- I'm A Liberal, And I Want Milo Yiannopoulos On My Campus - Huffington Post [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Cory Bernardi says he resents being used in Liberal party 'proxy war' - The Guardian [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- HuffPo's New Editor In Chief Is Already Undoing Arianna's Liberal Legacy - Daily Caller [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Why Are Liberals Surprised by the Senate Confirmation of DeVos? - National Review [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Liberal Hashtag #NotMySuperBowlChamps Protests Patriots' Support of Trump - Fox News Insider [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- All liberals are hypocrites. I know because I am one - Quartz [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- '9th Circus'? Scholars Say Court's Liberal Rep Is Overblown - ABC News [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Economic freedom - Wikipedia [Last Updated On: February 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 8th, 2017]
- Liberal land - Richfield Reaper [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Liberal groups file lawsuit to block Trump's deregulation order - Washington Examiner [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Strategies for Saving the Liberal Arts - Inside Higher Ed (blog) [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- This day in Liberal Judicial ActivismFebruary 9 - National Review [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- The Marco Rubio knockdown of Elizabeth Warren no liberal media outlet will cover - Conservative Review [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker proposes surprisingly liberal budget - Chicago Tribune [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Why the liberal world order is worth saving - Irish Times [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Tim Scott reads racist tweets by 'liberal left' over support for Jeff Sessions - Washington Times [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Five tips on having a safe conversation with your liberal spouse or conservative brother - Fox News [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Why Liberal Policies Are Terrible For Young People - Power Line (blog) [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Trevor Bauer goes on long rant defending tweet about liberal bias - Yahoo Sports [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Liberal Tolerance: Sen. Tim Scott Reads His Hate Mail On Senate Floor For Supporting Sessions As AG - Townhall [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Claws Out For Ivanka Trump Show Liberal Love For Women Is A Sham - The Federalist [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Trump Takes a Running Whack at the Liberal Interventionists - The Nation. [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Networks Swoon Over GOP 'Feeling the Wrath' of Liberal Town Hall Protesters - NewsBusters (blog) [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- Liberals, don't fall into the right's 'identity politics' trap - The Guardian [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- Liberal pledge: Revamp for 69 outdated schools in $560 million spend - Perth Now [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- Indians swept by Liberal in WAC action - Hays Daily News [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- Trump's attacks on the press and how the liberal media myth has empowered him - Salon [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- The Paranoid Style of Anti-Trump Politics - National Review [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- What the Liberal-One Nation preference deal could mean at the ballot box - ABC Online [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- Finley: Left bites Ivanka's liberal hand - The Detroit News [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- A new, liberal tea party is forming. Can it last without turning against Democrats? - Washington Post [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- Since When Is Being a Woman a Liberal Cause? - The New York ... - New York Times [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- This liberal Brooklynite is on the hunt for conservative friends - New York Post [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- Small-l liberal voters have been abandoned in the race to the right - The Sydney Morning Herald [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- Rich, Liberal Celebrities Lecture and Claim to Stand for 'We the People' at the 2017 Grammys - NewsBusters (blog) [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- WA One Nation candidates refuse to preference Liberals - ABC Online [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- India's liberal bubble has shrunk to irrelevance in the age of Narendra Modi - Quartz [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Liberal superhero Justin Trudeau is not immune to the forces of Trump - CNN [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- A new satire must emerge one that breaks out of the liberal bubble - The Guardian [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- A liberal Tea Party, the pope helps spring a terrorist and other notable commentary - New York Post [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- At Ole Miss, a Liberal Agitator's Education - New York Times [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Liberal Frenzy: 'Impeach' Trump; 'Traitor! Resign by Morning' - CNSNews.com [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- Chelsea Clinton future run for political shunned by liberal activists ... - Washington Times [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- One Nation could gain more than the Liberals from Western Australia seats deal - The Guardian [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- Conservatives: Walker's budget plan is anything but 'liberal' - Watchdog.org [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Trump Says Liberal Media 'Going Crazy With Blind Hatred' - Daily Caller [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- I'm a bleeding-heart liberal cleric but the Church of England must not accept gay marriage - Telegraph.co.uk [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- What's a Liberal to Do When His Spouse Is a Trump Zealot? - New York Times [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Liberal Activists Join Forces Against a Common Foe: Trump - New York Times [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- John Howard backs Liberal preference deal with One Nation in WA - The Guardian [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2017]
- Liberal ex-MP who called party a 'gay club' likely to be kicked out - The Australian Financial Review [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2017]
- New Liberal PAC Targets Democrats for Primaries - NBCNews.com [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2017]
- 'Liberals will continue to lose': Bill Maher defends Milo Yiannopoulos booking after panelist boycotts - Washington Post [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2017]
- Whatever happened to liberal Democrats, anyway? - Chicago Tribune - Chicago Tribune [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2017]
- Sportswriting Has Become a Liberal Profession Here's How It Happened - The Ringer (blog) [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2017]
- If the Church of England continues to smother liberal Anglicans, it is heading for a split - Telegraph.co.uk [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2017]
- Major liberal group opposes Gorsuch confirmation - USA TODAY [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2017]
- The True Origins of the Phrase 'Bleeding-Heart Liberal' - Atlas Obscura [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- Liberals, Tories spar over Islamophobia motion in full-day debate - The Globe and Mail [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- Where Have All the Liberal Democrats Gone? - Townhall [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- Vicious attacks on Ivanka Trump exposes liberal hypocrisy - The Hill (blog) [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- Can Emmanuel Macron win? Why France is ripe for a liberal resurgence - New Statesman [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- Victorian Liberals: factional fight exposes deep divisions - The Age [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- 10 Unfortunate Liberal Myths Conservatives Often Believe - Observer [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- Terri Lovell: Liberal oppression - Santa Clarita Valley Signal [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- Where's the liberal outrage over civil liberties in the Flynn case? - Minneapolis Star Tribune [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Liberal, conservative Jews in US increasingly divided over Trump - Chicago Tribune [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Anti-Islamophobia debate might define both Liberals and Conservatives - CBC.ca [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]