I read a story this week about a little 12 year old girl in Devon who got into trouble with her school for insisting on wearing a purity ring. Apparently this isn't a euphemism but rather something that young people sometimes wear to symbolize their commitment to abstain from sex. The girl, or rather her parents, think that this amounts to religious discrimination. You remember that bit from the Sermon on the Mount (and I make no apologies for using the King James Version). It comes just after that bit about the meek.
“And Blessed is she who dost wait for the One and who gaineth the approval of her father and doth marry before lying with a man, and who doth symbolize her commitment by purchasing a ring which doth look great and which can be purchasethd online for a reasonable price”
The school refused on health and safety grounds, citing the many ring injuries suffered in Devon every year. Ironically, none of these were caused by abstinence.
My own religious beliefs are old fashioned Church of England. During my political career, of course, I always managed to keep my religious beliefs to myself, never allowing exhortations to love thy neighbour to interfere with completing the latest arms deal or cutting unemployment benefits. Only once did I have doubts – I dabbled with Atheism back in the Sixties. Sadly, my faith just wasn't strong enough and I soon lapsed. Even now I can't quite bring myself to believe that Richard Dawkins really exists. Luckily, today's politicians have more faith than I did, which is why they can keep a straight face when they suggest that the way to fix a recession brought about by reckless borrowing to buy things we couldn't afford is to encourage everyone to buy things they can't afford with money that they have borrowed recklessly. It makes me giggle every time. And that is why I am not Prime Minister and Gordon Brown is!
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