Giles Fraser

[[File:Giles Fraser 2008.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Fraser in 2008]]
{{Christianity}}
'''Giles Fraser''' {{lived|1964}} is an [[English]] [[Anglican]] clergyman and a [[Author|writer]] and broadcaster on religious topics. He is a priest at St Mary's, Newington, South London, and a contributor to [[BBC]] Radio 4's regular religious sermon slot "[[Thought for the Day]]" and [[philosophy]] show ''The Moral Maze''. He has written columns for ''Church Times'' and ''[[The Guardian]]''.<ref name=wpgf>{{wpa|Giles Fraser}}</ref> In his [[journalism]], he often seems to be functioning as a [[devil's advocate]], taking extreme or eccentric political positions, as often not coming down on the side of the [[left]] as the [[right]].

He has been described as "one of the country’s leading Anglicans" (by Edge Hill University in Lancashire, which gave him an honorary doctorate).<ref>[https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/news/2013/07/high-profile-church-leader-given-honorary-award/ Church Leader Given Honorary Award], Edge Hill University, 2017</ref> ''The Guardian'' described him in 2011 as "an unlikely hero for the Church of England" and "the media's favourite anti-vicar".<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/oct/27/in-praise-of-giles-fraser-editorial In praise of … Giles Fraser], Editorial, The Guardian, 27 October 2011</ref> The ''[[Daily Mail]]'' sneeringly called him "the toast of London’s Left-wing intelligentsia".<ref>[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2729443/SEBASTIAN-SHAKESPEARE-Moral-maze-wife-BBC-s-right-priest-quits-vicarage.html Moral maze as wife of BBC's right-on priest quits vicarage], Sebastian Shakespeare, 20 Aug 2014</ref>

His father was [[Jewish]], although he has been [[Church of England]] since childhood; he has been married to an [[Israeli]] Jew since 2016.<ref name=wpgf/> He is a strong defender of Judaism as a religion, although has also been sympathetic to the [[Palestinian]] cause (or if you're a right-winger, he believed "it was acceptable <nowiki>[</nowiki>for [[Hamas]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> to deliberately kill innocents").<ref>[http://hurryupharry.org/2014/07/24/the-moral-maze-israel-and-gaza/ The Moral Maze: Israel and Gaza], Harry's Place, 24 July 2014</ref>

==Politics==
Fraser's politics are contradictory, but have elements of [[Christian socialism]] combined with a hatred of [[liberalism|liberalist]] individualism. In 2011 he quit a position as canon chancellor at St Paul's Cathedral, London, over his support for the London branch of [[Occupy]].<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/apr/01/canon-st-pauls-parish-priest Former canon of St Paul's appointed parish priest at inner-city church], Sam Jones, The Guardian, 1 April 2012</ref> He has criticised [[Donald Trump]] and Israel's right-wing prime minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] for their tolerance towards [[neonazism]].<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2017/aug/17/why-americas-antisemites-can-hate-jews-but-still-claim-to-admire-israel Why America’s antisemites can hate Jews but still claim to admire Israel], Giles Fraser, The Guardian, 17 Aug 2017</ref>

However, Fraser has also expressed traditional, [[conservative]] viewpoints on [[Kinder, Küche, Kirche|women's role in society]].<ref name=bennett2019>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/02/thought-for-the-day-silence-bbc-preachers-who-keep-women-down-thought-for-the-day Thought for the day: is it time to silence BBC preachers who keep women down?], Catherine Bennett, The Guardian, 2 Mar 2019</ref> He opposes liberalism, believing the community should come before individual rights; in this context he aligned [[atheism]] with liberalism and Christianity with [[socialism]].<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2012/jul/20/not-a-liberal-community-individual No, I am not a liberal – I believe that community comes before the individual], Giles Fraser, The Guardian, 20 July 2012</ref> He takes the traditional attitude that people should look after their parents, rather than expecting society to look after them, and condemns those who leave their communities to pursue educational opportunities or move overseas rather than stay at home to care for their families.<ref name=fraserremainers/> He was particularly condemned as [[sexist]] for saying, "it is the daughter of the elderly gentleman that should be wiping his bottom," although this gender division of labour was explained by discussing the case of a woman who was inquiring about care for her elderly parent (to avoid sexism he could still have asked if the elderly gentleman had any sons).<ref name=bennett2019/><ref>[https://twitter.com/wmarybeard/status/1099386510489669632 "hang on... that was because the story started with HER contacting the GP. i am still not sure I agree... but this quote does misrepresent a bit, in the narrative context"], Mary Beard (@wmarybeard), Twitter, 23 Feb 2019</ref> Professor Steve Peers has questioned what Fraser's attitude is to people who leave their families to pursue or study religious vocations or [[Missionary|evangelise in distant lands]].<ref>[http://eulawanalysis.blogspot.com/2019/02/family-values-and-brexit-reply-to-giles.html Family values and Brexit: a reply to Giles Fraser], Steve Peers, EU Law Analysis, 22 Feb 2019</ref>

In the case of the abusive evangelical Christian {{wpl|John Smyth (barrister)|John Smyth}}, who beat at least 130 boys in his charge, however, Fraser condemned disciplinarians; his prep school headmaster had an extensive collection of canes in his study and beat the future priest several times a week for minor infractions.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/05/john-smyth-public-school-christianity-brutality-thrashings-evangelical-decency Like John Smyth’s accusers, I bear the scars of a muscular Christian education], Giles Fraser, The Guardian, 5 February  2017</ref> After a report into Smyth's history of abuse in which [[Justin Welby]], the Archbishop of Canterbury was held to be among those responsible for concealing Smyth's behavior, Fraser commented in a November 2024 BBC Radio interview: "This needs to be our watershed moment in the church, where we look at the culture of deference, the way in which many of our senior leadership rally to defend each other".<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/nov/11/justin-welby-under-growing-pressure-to-resign-over-serial-abuser Justin Welby under growing pressure to resign over serial abuser], ''The Guardian'', Harriet Sherwood, November 11, 2024</ref>  Welby resigned the next day.

He is an advocate of [[Brexit]], apparently because Remainers are all liberals.<ref name=fraserremainers>[https://unherd.com/2019/02/why-wont-remainers-talk-about-family/ Why won’t Remainers talk about family?], UnHerd, 22 Feb 2019</ref>

==Circumcision==
He is strongly in favour of [[circumcision]], opposing a court judgment in Cologne that banned male circumcision and [[Iceland]]ic proposals for a similar ban. He argued that circumcision was central to Jewish identity and [[Germany]] introducing a ban would be "to do [[Hitler]]'s work for him" (Zing! [[Godwin's Law]] alert!). His dislike of liberalism is central to this, and a belief that history and tradition are more important than personal choice. He did not mention the tradition of [[Female genital mutilation|female circumcision]].<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2012/jul/17/german-circumcision-affront-jewish-muslim-identity This German circumcision ban is an affront to Jewish and Muslim identity], Giles Fraser, The Guardian, 17 July 2012</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/giles_fraser/status/225282667975938048 "To those who hated my Guardian circumcision piece, one question: Are you really happy for the Germans to ban what it is to be Jewish?"], Giles Fraser (@giles_fraser), Twitter, 17 July 2012</ref> He also spoke in favour of circumcision on BBC Radio 4's ''The Moral Maze'' (when Iceland was considering a ban), claiming opponents of foreskin-snipping were trying to restrict the practice of religion (when they believed circumcision should be a choice for an individual) and comparing medically-accurate accounts of the harm caused to the [[blood libel]] falsely-levelled against Jews.<ref>[https://www.secularism.org.uk/opinion/2018/02/schrodingers-penis Opinion: How cutting cultures deny dissenters their voice and identity], Antony Lempert, National Secular Society blog, 23 Feb 2018</ref> [[Susan Blackmore]] called his comments on circumcision, "utterly repellent, as well as unfair and ludicrous."<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/DrSusanBlackmore/posts/wow-they-claim-the-moral-maze-is-combative-it-was-more-than-that-anglican-priest/1598007970295464/ Untitled post], Susan Blackmore, Facebook, 23 Feb 2018</ref>

==LGBT issues==
He is in favour of gay clergy and [[homosexuality]] generally, but took the interesting [[moral]] viewpoint that gay [[Lying for Jesus|clergy should lie]] about their sexuality if the church prohibited homosexuality (rather than e.g., telling the [[truth]] or joining a different church).<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/06/why-gay-bishops-have-to-lie Why gay bishops have to lie], Giles Fraser, The Guardian, 6 Jan 2013</ref><ref>[https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2013/11-january/comment/columnists/lies-and-more-anti-gay-lies Lies, and more anti-gay lies], Giles Fraser, Church Times, 11 Jan 2013</ref>

==Secularism==
He has defended the BBC's "Thought for the Day," a regular platform for religious leaders (but not [[atheists]]) to deliver a little moral lesson to Radio 4's audience (described by Radio 4 presenter Justin Webb as, "They are all roughly the same… If everyone was nicer to everyone else, it would be fine"). Fraser manages to turn the BBC's reserving airtime for religion into an assault on religion by the sneering atheists of the BBC.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/31/thought-for-the-day-faith-bbc-religion-radio-4-today Here’s my Thought for the Day: stop sneering and keep the faith, BBC], Giles Fraser, 31 Oct 2017</ref>

He once debated [[Richard Dawkins]] on BBC Radio 4 and, according to conservatives, thoroughly defeated the atheist scientist. After Dawkins produced figures showing that most Christians based their opinions on secular influences rather than Christianity, Fraser asked Dawkins to give the full title of [[Darwin]]'s [[On the Origin of Species|''On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life'']], which Dawkins struggled with.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9082059/For-once-Richard-Dawkins-is-lost-for-words.html For once, Richard Dawkins is lost for words], Stephen Pollard, The Daily Telegraph, 14 February 2012</ref><ref>[https://www.conservapedia.com/Richard_Dawkins%27_debate_with_Giles_Fraser Richard Dawkins' debate with Giles Fraser], [[Conservapedia]]</ref>

==External links==
* [https://twitter.com/giles_fraser His Twitter account], @giles_fraser

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

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[[Category:British people]]
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Categories: Authors, British people, Living people