London, England - The second-highest figure in the Church of England waded into the row over Muslim veils, saying they did not conform to "norms of decency" in Britain, in a wideranging newspaper interview published on Monday.
Doctor John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, questioned whether Muslim women should expect public acceptance for wearing the veil in Britain.
He told the Daily Mail: "Muslim scholars would say three things. First, does it conform to norms of decency? Secondly, does it render you more secure? And thirdly, what kind of Islam are you projecting by wearing it?
"I think in the British context it renders you less secure because you stick out and it brings unwelcome attention.
"On the first question (of whether the veil conforms to norms of decency) I don't think it does conform."
The Ugandan-born 57-year-old archbishop said he removed his cross when visiting a mosque or a synagogue and covered his head in Sikh temples "because I am going into someone else's home".
"And I can't simply say: 'Take me as I am, whether you like it or not'.
"I think the thing is in British society you can wear what you want, but you can't expect British society to be reconfigured around you. No minority can expect to impose this on the public or civic life."
He also accused the BBC of bias against Christianity and says the broadcaster fears a terrorist backlash if it is critical of Islam.
The archbishop said Christians took "more knocks" than other faiths at the hands of the BBC.
"They can do to us what they dare not do to the Muslims," he said. "We are fair game because they can get away with it. We don't go down there and say, 'We are going to bomb your place.' That is not in our nature."
The Ugandan-born archbishop nevertheless said Christians must be more forceful in promoting their beliefs.
Blaming the "chattering classes" for undermining trad-itional Christian culture, he said: "They see themselves as holding the flag for Britain and that Britain is definitely secular and atheist. I want them to have their say but not to lord it over the rest of us."
He called for a return to family values and an end to the tyranny of materialism, especially at Christmas.
"We have become a society where we all gather around the microwave or the television. Even while you are eating, the television is blaring. Come on!
"Parents should spend more time talking to children because that is where behaviour is learned, in the home."
Dr Sentamu rejected the idea of the Church severing its remaining ties with the state. "People of other faiths say to me that the Church establishment is critical because it is a bulwark against a secularising agenda," he said.
"The Church of England reminds the nation that in this country the Queen is Defender of the Faith, head of the Commonwealth and head of state." The Queen, he added, was the "real uniting force" and no politician "could ever rise to her level".
Meanwhile an immigration tribunal, which was adjourned when a legal adviser refused to remove her veil after the judge said he could not hear her clearly, was set to resume on Monday.
Shabnam Mughal refused to take off her full-face veil at the hearing in Stoke-on-Trent, central England.
The tribunal resumes before a different judge following an interim ruling to allow solicitors and other legal advisers to wear the veil in court unless it interferes with the "interests of justice".
Britain is grappling with the cultural integration of Muslims and how to tackle extremists emerging within the country's Muslim community.
The issue was brought sharply to the fore by the July 2005 London bombings. Four British Islamist suicide bombers killed 52 commuters in attacks on the capital's transport system.
It flared up again last month when former foreign secretary Jack Straw said that he asked women visiting his constituency office to remove the niqab, or full face veil.
Prime Minister Tony Blair later added that the veil was a "mark of separation".