THE public expression of the Christian faith and other religions is being undermined by political correctness, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey of Clifton, says.

“I think there is a view around that practising Christianity and all the symbols that go with it embarrasses people of other faiths and of course that’s nonsense,” he told GMTV’s Sunday Programme.

This month a Derby schoolgirl was sent home after she refused to remove her crucifix necklace. A crucifix was “an expression of our faith”, Lord Carey said, dismissing the claim that it was jewellery. “I’m glad that many people have risen up against that and said it’s nonsense,” he said.

“I think it may come from a certain nervousness — maybe it’s excited by the visibility of Muslims in our country, with some girls wearing burkhas.

“There’s certainly nothing wrong with wearing a cross or crucifix or having those symbols in our classrooms. It’s proper that you should have a discussion of that nature.”

He was worried that the school’s decision “may represent a worrying hostility towards Christianity and all religions by a minority of people in leadership today who want to privatise religion, push it to the boundaries, not allow a voice in the public arena, and go the way of France.

“I personally think that would be a retrograde step. That would not be the Britain I know.

“We can’t keep faith out of politics or out of public life. It’s part of our own identity.

“I don’t expect the Prime Minister to preach that he is moving into my kind of job, but he has got every right to say his Christian faith pervades and influences all that he does.”

Lord Carey, who retired as head of the Anglican Church in 2002, said that Christians should be more explicit about their faith and proud of the Cross.

“We must avoid the kind of political correctness that is creeping in and undermining the public expression of the Christian faith.”

The debate over the school’s barring of the crucifix could be “very good news for the Church” he said. “It may make us much more aware of the meaning of these symbols so that when we put these things on, we do it because it means something and it’s not simply a piece of jewellery.”

He added that MPs should do more to “recover our identity about being British today. I cannot understand how you can be British without having the core faith at the heart of it which is Christianity.

“To the legislators I say: ‘Let’s apply common sense principles to all our laws and legislation but let’s be aware of the rich vein of the Christian faith which runs through our history and laws, culture, literature and so on’. If you take the Christian faith out of British identity what have you got left? “That’s not to say you can’t be British and a Jew or British and a Muslim — of course I’m not saying that. But we are talking about a British identity. The majority of people in this land identify themselves by a common language, by common culture and by the implicitness of the Christian faith itself. It’s a very important part of our identity.”

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