UK News
Insights from the UK and beyond
Other religions for British stamps?
Email 
Print
Christmas stamps go on sale today: six special editions featuring angels in the snow and portraits of the Mother and Child.
Royal Mail could be forgiven for breathing a sigh of relief this year after the fuss of 2006 when it was accused of taking the Christ out of Christmas with its secular images of Santa Claus and snowmen.
This year is a religious one according to its policy of alternating between secular and religious themes and so Christian groups should be pleased — for another 12 months at least.
But in an increasingly multi-faith Britain, is Royal Mail right to concentrate solely on Christian themes. Has the time come to issue stamps to coincide with other religious festivals widely observed in Britain — like Ramadan?
Which other religious festivals would you like celebrated on British stamps?
Comments RSSPost Your Comment
I would like to see stamps promoting the multicultural diversity of the UK. We truly live in a great country which has embraced all cultures for the better. Britiain should be proud of this heritage.
You’ve answered the question already….
Its a Chrisian festival in a predominately Christian country so no no no no “other religions”
Ramadan – certainly not
Lets bring this country back to Christianity – lets support the Saudi model – interfere with the faith and …..
England has been a Christian nation for centuries, only in the past few decades have other faiths become promient. However, to say other festivals are “widely observed in Britain” is a mistake. This great nation is still predominantly Christian or Atheist. If anything, we should have less religious stamps, not more.
no
None, we should stop encouraging them.
Faith is inherently divisive, because different faiths cannot be reconciled. 90% of Britons don’t go to church regularly – time to drop faith from our national culture.
The Royal Mail should issue stamps to coincide with Ramadan when Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia issue stamps to coincide with Christmas.
What a joke. Britain is host to Protestant countries so why should anyone object to the Royal Mail portaying the national beliefs on their stamps?
Yes, Britain is fairly diverse but the British Subjects should respect the religious standing of their host.
What a lovely surprise to have the Christian stamps for xmas. After all it is a Christian festival. This Country is Christian and so we must celebrate our own faith. We are however tolerant of others. If we went to a muslin or other faith country they would not let us celebrate being christians. No keep our faith sacred. It is the only thing this country has left.
As a Hare Krishna devotee I’m clearly not from a Christian church, but am happy to see this current collection of stamps celebrating Christ’s birth.
I really don’t see the point in artificially imposing on Royal Mail’s choice of stamps – Britain is a largely Christian country after all. If other religious festivals are also celebrated at other times of the year then great, but lets not put political correctness before common-sense.
Gauranga
Its a Christian holiday so the Christmas stamps should just be Christian.
I think as a nation we have become obsessed with multiculturalism and this obsession is eroding the character and customs that make this country what it is (and indeed what attracts people to come in here to live and work).
Christmas is a Christian event and this country by the nature of it’s monarchy is a Christian country. I’m irritated that the establishment feel the need to apologise for that at every given opportunity.
Muslims make up only one sixtieth of the population and so are a minority. The number of people registered as ‘Jedi Knights’ numbers nearly 25% (390,000) that of muslims (1,500000) so how about having a set of stamps featuring Obi Wan Kenobi?
I may come across as anti-muslim but this is not the case as I am infact a british muslim by marriage, I’m just quite fond of this country and it’s history and customs and feel that if we, as a people don’t stop this apologist mentality we will end up with no identity whatsoever.
The United Kingdom is multi-cultural NOT multi-national.The Royal Mail should reflect the British nation, which traditionally is Christian. Change, and next in line will be Pagan stamps, Scientology stamps… Jedi stamps?
None! Britain is a Christian country with a Christian heritage in a Christian continent and long may it last.
If religious celebration is to become proportionaly representative, every religion or belief would be included. Does anyone want to see Scientology on British stamps??? You may laugh at the suggestion that Scientology would be included. Granted, it is a cult but then, according to the definition of cults, so is Islam; both relatively new to the indigenous population and in a minority.
What a shame that the release of real Christmas stamps should instigate this article. Oh how terrible! Christmas has something to do with Christ! We must write an article on it and point out the fact there’s nothing for the muslims!
Thank you Royal Mail for putting the Christ back into Christmas stamps and leaving other religions and sensitivities out of it. I was quite hurt last year and it is nice you adapted to my sensitivities.
Like everything else, Christmas is being devalued to appease racists. Basically those who do not celebrate the birth of Christ, and this includes Jehovahs Witnesses, should not even be given the time off work. Royal Mail has been infiltrated by these people a with every other organisation in this Country and with the law as it is, is at their mercy. Will Ourgov make a National holiday of Ramadam – like hell, it thinks we have too much time off now!
There are a lot of hindu and muslim Asians in Britain, many permanent residents, others as workers, students etc. There is also a increasing population of Chinese, and Buddhists from south east and far east Asia.
So yes, just concentrating on christmas as a theme for new stamps is not proper.
I have no issues with having christian symbols on stamps, but it would be great if for example the royal mail issues stamps to celebrate the Indian festival of diwali, it has become a big celebration over the years in Britain. Britain is a culturally diverse country and it is always nice if these various cultures and traditions are equally celebrated.
Perhaps, as not all worldviews have festivals, a set of year end stamps that commemorated the different beliefs important to the residents of the country (and including, to be fair, a stamp for atheists)
Britain is not a multi-faith country. It is a Christian country which allows the followers of minority faiths to worship as they choose.
Royal Mail should issue stamps with other religious themes if (and only if) it thinks there is a market for them. It should not be influenced by left wing politicians or other wreckers who are constantly seeking to undermine society and impose their own perverted “vision” of what the country should be.
Rather than asking why they should put other religious symbols on stamps, shouldn’t we be asking why they shouldn’t? On what basis should a public-service provider decide which symbols should appear on its stampts? Should it be based-upon people’s professed religion? If so, around 75% of stamps should bear Christian symbolism and 2.5%, Muslim symbolism (2001 Uk Census). Should it be based upon some loose assessment of ‘tradition’? If so, there is a case for saying the Royal Mail should reach further back into British history and include Pagan symbolism. To me, it appears there is very little justification for restricting religions from stamps unless one is prepared to go all-out and keep stamp-adornment a purely secular affair.
Do people have nothing better to do than complain about Racism all day? Yes it’s wrong and I’m all against some poor kid getting beat up because his skin’s the wrong colour, but come on it’s a postage stamp! How about we stop fussing over things like “Is it racist to celebrate Christmas?” or using the “N word” on Channel 4 and use that energy to do something more productive like reducing crime rates or feeding the homeless?
No Royal Mail should not. Any foreigners knew Britain to be a Christian country before they came here, and only a massive arrogance would expect it to change, it certainly would not in their own country! Far too much ‘positive racism’ going on in Britain today! Such consideration for foreigners’delicacies’ are not to be tolerated here.
In America they have “In God we trust” on their money. If we did something like that in this country, we’d start a huge war or something. Why is this country so intent in changing? Yes, some things need to be changed. But let’s never forget we are BRITAIN.
Christians stole December 25th from Pagans because they hadn’t a clue when Jesus was born, so perhaps we can have Pagan symbols on stamps, as well. And if religions can be have emblems depicted on stamps can evolutionists have the evolvefish emblem on a stamp to commemorate Darwin Day? Get real! Why have anything depicted on a stamp other than the Queen’s head and the value. The function of a stamp is to show that the correct postage has been paid. Sheesh!
If you believe in ‘political correctness’ – yes, if you
believe in common sense – no.
Once again, you can be sure, the liberal-left will
support ‘political correctness’.
“Which other religious festivals would you like celebrated on British stamps?”
None … other than the MAJORITY, CHRISTIAN ones that are normally celebrated in Great Britain, by the largly CHRISTIAN FAITH ie; Christmas, Lent, Easter.
yes stamps should be issued to coinicide with other festivals. As Muslim in Britain I pay tax and my religion should be represented on stamps. The Non-Muslims in Saudi are there for employment purposes, they get paid well and they donot pay tax.
The day you put another faith on the stamp, they better put a Jedi on it. As i feel that i am being suppressed by the British people. after all we came from a galaxy far far away and to help you. and even through we are only 300,000 strong, we feel that Yoda should be on all your stamps.
Some of you miss the point. I am of asian origin and am extremely proud to be a UK citizen. The British people should be proud of the muticultural aspects of their society, it is unique. The ethnic minorities not only add to the economy of the nation but also make Britain what it is today. A truely multicultural capitalist free market. Welcome to the 21st century.
One must remember that this country is Christian and thus we should not care what guests’ feeling are.