THE UK must “stand together and defend” its Christian values in the face of threats from terrorism, David Cameron has said in his Easter message.
The prime minister said responsibility, hard work and compassion were important to people “of every faith and none”.
The ideology behind attacks such as Brussels could be defeated by “standing up proudly” for those values, he added.
The Archbishop of Canterbury used his Easter sermon to urge people not to give in to fear after the attacks.
The prime minister has faced criticism in the past from secularists and some other public figures for describing Britain as a Christian country.
He has previously described himself as a “committed” but only “vaguely practising” Christian, who is “full of doubts” on big theological questions.
The prime minister said Britain should be proud of being a “Christian country with Christian values”.
“But they are also values that speak to everyone in Britain – to people of every faith and none,” he continued.
“And we must all stand together and defend them.”
He added: “When terrorists try to destroy our way of life as they have tried to do again so despicably in Brussels this week – we must stand together and show that we will never be cowed by terror.
“We must show that in this struggle of our generation we will defeat the pernicious ideology that is the root cause of this terrorism by standing up proudly for our values and our way of life.”
Mr Cameron also praised the work done by faith and voluntary organisations – helping the homeless, caring for the sick and bereaved and risking their lives to help people in war-torn regions across the world.
