The Bishop of Rochester has suggested that marriage and family and therefore society as a whole are currently under threat because of recent government legislation.

Speaking to a panel of religious experts, MPs and journalists at the recent Faith Under Fire symposium, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali said, "If Christians are upset about some pieces of recent legislation, it's because those vital, basic institutions [marriage and family] are under threat, therefore society as a whole is under threat.

"Safety from harm is not just about individuals, it is about the safety from harm of vital social institutions and marriage and family are certainly some of them. Let us not underestimate the seriousness of this. The law, the institutions, the values and the customs of this country are rooted in the Judao-Christian tradition."

Joined by a panel of guests including MP Stephen Webb, Rabbi Jonathan Wittenburg and host, Peter Kerridge, the Bishop of Rochester spoke passionately about the importance of values.

He said, "When 9/11 or 7/7 happened, politicians immediately come up with values, they come up with tolerance, they come up with the rule of law, they come up with democracy.

"Yet when you examine what these values mean for them, they're rather thin values. They don't actually tell you what to do. It is in fact, in the daily business of living, even in parliament, that you come up against the so-called thick values. Values that we actually work by, live by and think by."

The debate, involving Christians, Jews, agnostics and atheists saw religious leaders and politicians speak on such subjects as the recent Sexual Orientation Regulations, the abolition of slavery and the rights of Christians in the UK.

The idea of the Faith Under Fire symposium was originally conceived as a result of extensive research which found that 40 per cent to 45 per cent of the British public believe Christianity is being marginalised, with the Government and large companies pushing a secular agenda. Within this figure, 78 per cent of church-attending Christians felt marginalised.

Commenting on their decision to gather religious leaders and MPs for the extensive debate, Kerridge said, "Through research, we've found our listeners, including the many here in London, are taking an active interest in politics and the way this country is moulded though our government's legislations. 82 per cent of our listeners voted in the last election and 78 per cent of church attending Christians feel marginalised."

"This is in part, why we chose to host the Faith Under Fire debate; because it is our responsibility as Christians to speak up now, when it comes to decisions about our faith and our future."