Two court rulings yesterday may well be seen by some people as attacks on a Christian way of life. The judgement that local councils have no authority to hold prayers before the start of council business and the loss of the appeal against conviction by the Christian hoteliers who refused to allow an unmarried gay couple to stay in a double room both – on the face of it – undermine what many see as traditional Christian values.

Yet, more accurately, these rulings are part of a long and slow progress across Britain involving the sometimes painful untangling of Church and State. They show that Britain, once a Christian country with a majority of the population who would have called themselves Anglican is now a culturally and religiously diverse society. The judgements illustrate that in such a society it is inappropriate for the law to uphold and defend practices and beliefs which seem to favour only those of a Christian persuasion.

To many, many people, that is a matter for regret. And where Christians see other religions and cultures afforded what looks like special protection by the law, a feeling that they are being persecuted can set in. That may be the case with Peter and Hazelmary Bull, who run the West Cornwall guest house where only married couples were permitted to share a bed. The Court of Appeal heard yesterday that they believed permitting unmarried people – whether heterosexual or homosexual – to share a double bed involved them in “promoting a sin”. Why should they be forced by the law to do something that their religious beliefs tell them is wrong? That was the centrepiece of their argument.

The question of prayers at council meetings was brought by the National Secular Society who challenged Bideford Town Council when it refused to alter its prayers policy for an atheist member. In this case it was the non-Christians who argued they faced discrimination. The judge did not accept the Secular Society’s claim that being forced to endure prayers amounted to a human rights breach – to general relief, we imagine – but did say that councils had no right to order the saying of prayers at the start of a meeting either, outlawing Christian worship in the council chamber.

So where does all this leave us? Living in an ever more secular society is the answer. Given Britain’s diversity that will be something many people will feel is not unreasonable. But the law relies upon fairness and society demands freedom. Fairness means restrictions on religious observance – where they might be seen as discriminatory – must apply equally to all religions. Freedom means that while society may be secular, organisations that promote religion and religious beliefs cannot be forced to curtail their activities. Failure, by the courts and the Government, to adhere to these two rules will risk alienating the sort of people society needs. And that would be very dangerous indeed.