Self-giving and voluntary generosity with possessions for the well being of others are Christian duties which point towards the desirability of church people taking a lead in post-death organ donation, the Church of England has suggested in parliamentary evidence.

These days, it can so easily feel as if religion is an anti-democratic force in our polity, writes Giles Fraser. No one votes for Bishops in the House of Lords, for example. So it's worth remembering that in this country, as indeed in many others too, religion was the nursemaid of democracy.

Simon Barrow says that party politics may have blurred but the role of religious and non-religious beliefs can still elicit a lively debate.

The House of Lords will this morning discuss the position and rights of the non-religious in Britain today, against the backdrop of declining religious attendance but increased government investment in faith initiatives.

Apparently rejecting calls to express their opposition just 3 out of the 26 unelected bishops that sit in the House of Lords voted last night over the government's Sexual Orientation Regulations.

Several hundred Christians gathered outside Parliament carrying banners with slogans like: "Gay Aim = Abolish the Family" - despite warnings from other evangelicals that they were reinforcing the idea that all Christians are homophobic. Other campaigners have been accused of scare tactics.

Church of England bishops voted last night against a democratically elected House of Lords.