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The London School of Economics in the U.K. is removing historical Christian terms from its academic calendar in an attempt to better reflect its “international” character.
LSE is stripping Michaelmas, Christmas, Lent and Easter as the names for its terms and breaks, which are being renamed next year as “autumn term,” “winter break,” “winter term” and “spring break,” respectively, according to The Telegraph.
“These new names use more accessible and widely-recognized terminology, and better reflect the international nature of our community and our broader global engagement,” the school said in a statement. Many British universities have traditionally named their academic terms after Christian holidays.
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The London School of Economics is facing backlash for stripping Christian terms from its academic calendar starting next year.
(VictorHuang via Getty Images)
Toby Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, blasted LSE for its decision, according to LBC.
“If this was an effort to secularize the LSE I’d be sympathetic,” he said. “But in reality, it reflects the fact that the LSE, like most British universities, is in thrall to a new religious cult — the church of woke — that is far more dogmatic than Christianity.”
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“[LSE] is in thrall to a new religious cult — the church of woke — that is far more dogmatic than Christianity.”
Simon Calvert, who serves as deputy director at The Christian Institute, echoed Young, telling The Telegraph: “We have been warning for years that Christians are being pushed from the public square, yet the problem is getting worse.”
“Christians and those with traditional views often find themselves silenced or bullied. It’s particularly ironic when this happens at institutions that were originally founded on Christian principles and with endowments from Christian benefactors.”
“So, this ludicrous decision by the LSE to rebrand traditional academic terms, by scrapping references to the calendar of the established Church, is more virtue-signaling nonsense that creates exclusion in the name of inclusivity,” Calvert added.
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The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university located in London, England, and a constituent college of the federal University of London.
(EYEPRESS via Reuters Connect)
Calvin Robinson, an Anglican deacon in the separatist Free Church of England who has claimed his ordination in the Church of England was “snatched away” because of his conservative theological views, also condemned LSE’s move as an attempt at “whitewashing Christ from the calendar.”
“We truly live in a post-Christian Britain and it is ugly,” Robinson tweeted in part.
LSE did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment by time of publication.
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The number of Christians in England and Wales has dipped below half of the population for the first time in census history, according to government statistics released in November.
Jon Brown is a writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected].