The Westminster Declaration

A Call of Christian Conscience
4 April, 2010

Visit the Westminster Declaration website to sign the document or to obtain more detailed information about it.

Protecting human life, protecting marriage, and protecting freedom of conscience are foundational for creating and maintaining strong families, caring communities and a just society. Our Christian faith compels us to speak and act in defence of all these.

Our beliefs and values

As Christians we reaffirm historic belief in God the Father (who created us and gave us the blueprint for our lives together); in God the Son Jesus Christ our Saviour (accepting his incarnation, teaching, claims, miracles, death, resurrection and return in judgment); and in God the Holy Spirit (who lives within us, guides us and gives us strength). We commit ourselves to worship, honour and obey God.

As UK citizens we affirm our Christian commitment both to exercise social responsibility in working for the common good and also to be subject to all governing authorities and obey them except when they require us to act unjustly.

Human life

We believe that being made in the image of God, all human life has intrinsic and equal dignity and worth and that it is the duty of the state to protect the vulnerable. We will support, protect, and be advocates for such people - including children born and unborn, and all those who are sick, disabled, addicted, elderly, in single parent families, poor, exploited, trafficked, appropriately seeking asylum, threatened by environmental change, or exploited by unjust trade, aid or debt policies.

We pledge to work to protect the life of every human being from conception to its natural end and we refuse to comply with any directive that compels us to participate in or facilitate abortion, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide, euthanasia, or any other act that involves intentionally taking innocent human life. We will support those who take the same stand.

Marriage

We pledge to support marriage - the lifelong covenantal union of one man and one woman as husband and wife. We believe it is divinely ordained, the only context for sexual intercourse, and the most important unit for sustaining the health, education, and welfare of all. We call on government to honour, promote and protect marriage and we refuse to submit to any edict forcing us to equate any other form of sexual partnership with marriage. We commit ourselves to continue affirming what we believe as Christians about sexual morality, marriage, and the family.

Conscience

We count it a special privilege to live in a democratic society where all citizens have the right to participate in the political process. We pledge to do what we can to ensure our laws are just and fair, particularly in protecting vulnerable people. We will seek to ensure that religious liberty and freedom of conscience are unequivocally protected against interference by the state and other threats, not only to individuals but also to institutions including families, charities, schools and religious communities. We will not be intimidated by any cultural or political power into silence or acquiescence and we will reject measures that seek to overrule our Christian consciences or to restrict our freedoms to express Christian beliefs, or to worship and obey God.

Commitment

We call upon all those in UK positions of leadership, responsibility and influence to pledge to respect, uphold and protect the right of Christians to hold these beliefs and to act according to Christian conscience.

The first 35 signatories to the Westminster 2010 Declaration are:

Lord Carey - Former Archbishop of Canterbury

Cardinal Keith O'Brien - Catholic Church in Scotland

Michael Nazir-Ali - Former Bishop of Rochester

Steve Clifford - General Director, Evangelical Alliance

Lyndon Bowring - Executive Director, CARE

Julie Anderson - Founder, Prayer for the Nation

Paul Ashton - CEO, Prospects for People with Learning Disabilities

Steve Brady - Principal, Moorlands College

Anita Cleverly - UK/European Director of ASK Prayer Network

Gerald Coates - Founder of Pioneer, speaker, author, broadcaster

Chris Cole - Founder of Cross Rhythms

Baroness Cox - House of Lords

Philip Giddings - Chairman, Mission and Public Affairs Council, Church of England

John Glass - General Superintendent, Elim Churches

Martin Goldsmith - Associate Lecturer, All Nations Christian College, Author, International Conference Speaker

Lynn Green - International Chairman, Youth With A Mission

Archbishop Hackman - Transatlantic and Pacific Association of Churches (TAPAC)

Clifford and Monica Hill - Projects Director and Executive Director, Contemporary Christianity

Tony Horswood - Director, Connections

Kate and Paul Jinadu - Overseers, New Covenant Church Network

Matilda McAtthram - Black Mental Health UK

Peter Maiden - International Director, Operation Mobilisation

Julie Littler Manners - Fountain House Ministries

Canon Yaqub Masih - Chairman, Pakistan Christian Concern

David Montgomery - District Superintendent of England and Wales, Church of the Nazarene

Jonathan Oloyede - Convener, Global Day of Prayer London

Hugh Palmer - Rector, All Souls Church

Peter Saunders - CEO, Christian Medical Fellowship

David Shosanya - London Baptist Association

Olave Snelling - CEO, Christian Broadcasting Council

Simon Steer - Principal, London School of Theology

Chris Sugden - Executive Secretary, Anglican Mainstream

Mike Wall - Executive Director, All Nations Christian College

Andrea Williams - Director, Christian Concern for our Nation

Dennis Wrigley - Leader, Maranatha Community