It would seem a little odd, wouldn't it? After all, he's head of the Catholic Church. His job is to promote the word of God and convert people to Christianity. If he were to suddenly give equal footing to the Hindus, the Bhuddists, or the Shintoists, he would basically be saying that the Catholic Church has nothing special to offer, so why bother. Go be a Bhuddist.

The same goes for the British Monarch, as head of the Anglican Church.

A LEADING Anglican bishop has attacked the trend towards what he called a multi-faith mish-mash in ethnically diverse Britain, and said it was time to reassert the country's Christian identity.

Bishop of Rochester Michael Nazir-Ali also questioned heir-to-the throne Prince Charles's desire to be seen as a defender of all faiths, not just Christianity, when he takes over as monarch.

Pakistani-born Nazir-Ali, whose family background is both Christian and Muslim, pitched into an emotive debate about national identity in a country deeply shocked last year when four British Islamic militants killed 52 people in attacks on London's transport system.

The bishop argued that the basis of British society, from the monarchy to its laws, was "Christian constitutionally".

"All our values come ultimately from the Bible," he told BBC radio.

I could see, if the monarch were simply that - a monarch, and not head of the Church - that they would want to give all of its subject equal treatment. However, Britain is a special case, because the king or queen is also head of the church, and therefore, must hold fast to the teachings of the church.

There are a few options Charles has as he contemplates being the next King of Britain. One, he could get over the multi-cult philosophy and do his job as head of the Church, and let the secular Prime Minister deal with the other faiths. Or, he could abdicate as head of the Church. He can seperate the monarchy from the Church of England. The latter option would spark outrage among adherants of the faith, the same as if the Pope were to choose politics over religion. The Church of England was founded by the monarchy - by Henry VIII, and for them to walk away from it would amount to the dissolution of the faith.

He [Nazir-Ali] has complained that the Church had come under increasing pressure to convert chapels in places such as prisons and hospitals into neutral venues that could be used by people of all faiths.

As the future titular head of the Church of England, Prince Charles has said he would like to be known as "Defender of Faith" rather than "Defender of the Faith."

Bishop Nazir-Ali took issue with the heir to the throne, saying: "The coronation service is such that whoever takes the oaths actually takes oaths to defend the Christian faith."

"You can't defend every faith because there are very serious differences among them," he added.