DUKE’S ATTITUDE TO RELIGION

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27201, 19 November 1953, Page 11

DUKE’S ATTITUDE TO RELIGION

METHODIST SEEKS INFORMATION LONDON, November 17.' Dr. Donald Soper, President of the Methodist Conference, who has suggested that the Queen should take less interest in racegoing, now urges the Duke of Edinburgh to set an example in his religious life. Writing in the “Daily Herald,” Dr. Soper pays tributes to the “strong lead” the Duke has given in many departments of national life. He says: “Having paid tribute to the Duke as a man, a sportsman, and a family man, I would not be honest if I did not express concern about his attitude to some other important aspects of our common life. “I have not the remotest idea whether the Duke is a religious person or not, and I don’t think many people have either. “He takes part in religious services when Royal occasion demands. I know he attends Divine Service on Sunday morning. But no-one, as far as I can tell, has been impressed by any obvious expression of religious faith on the part of the Duke. “I want to know what he thinks about God, as well as what he thinks about motor-cars and playing fields—and only he can tell us. “It would be a great encouragement to all of us if we had a little more information about the Duke’s spiritual development and a little more evidence of his desire to take part in the religious life of the community. “One symptom of the Duke’s apparent lack of concern for religious feeling is his determination to play polo on Sundays, despite all protests. “It is no good saying that a man in his position can play games on Sunday without interfering with anybody,else. “Whatever he does, however discreet he is, it becomes a public occasion, and even a commercial occasion, whether he likes it or not. And it involves, willy-nilly, a great deal of work for a great many other people who may also want to enjoy their Sundays as they wish.” Fish Jumps into Man’s Mouth.— Francesco Arcidiacond, 21, had just caught a fish and was speaking to his brother-in-law when he found the fish stuck in his throat. It had wriggled loose from the hook and leapt into his mouth. The brother-in-law took Francesco to hospital, where a doctor extracted it.—Acireale (Sicily)* November 17.