The far right stands accused of weaponising Christianity for its culture war. But churches are starting to call out those "cynically using the Christian label” for political ends.
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The far right stands accused of weaponising Christianity for its culture war. But churches are starting to call out those "cynically using the Christian label” for political ends.
On a blustery, overcast day in London, in front of tens of thousands of protestors gathered at the Houses of Parliament, a man takes to a stage wearing traditional vestments associated with the clergy.
Pointing to Westminster, he admonishes the “inhabitants of that building” who “defy the very Christ who built this nation”. This man is Bishop Cei Dewar, one of the central figures in a rising UK movement that’s combining conservative Christianity with hard right politics: Christian nationalism.
He was speaking at the Unite the Kingdom rally in May, organised by anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. Dewar is a major figure in the nascent ‘Make Britain Christian Again’ movement, which is promoting a nationalistic and conservative form of Christianity, while aligning with anti-migrant groups and defining itself against the alleged threat of Islam.
Christian nationalism has gained electoral success in recent years in the US with prominent figures close to Donald Trump supporting the ideology – and The Ferret has found it is increasingly being embraced by UK anti-migrant activists who believe that faith should be connected with national identity and Britain should be a ‘Christian state’, with laws and institutions that reflect their values.
Earlier this year, we reported warnings that far right groups are weaponising Christianity for political agendas. We’ve been following developments and our latest investigation looks at the main figures behind this phenomenon ahead of a public event in Edinburgh this month called ‘The Rise of Islam in the UK’.
“[A Christian nation] should demonstrate Christian values like compassion, forgiveness, the love of neighbours, and the welcoming of strangers”. — Reverend Sarah Brown, convener of the Church of Scotland’s
Those billed to speak in the capital include John-William Noble, a preacher at Grace Baptist Church in Aberdeen, who gave a speech a few weeks after Dewar’s address at Tommy Robinson’s London rally. In the Granite City, Noble spoke to a crowd numbering in the tens, rather than tens of thousands. A video of the event shows him in front of a poster commemorating Kriss Donald, a white teenager from Glasgow murdered in a 2004 racist attack. The clip is interspersed with images of Henry Nowak, the student murdered in Southampton by Vickrum Digwa, and Stephen Ogilvie, allegedly stabbed in Belfast in June by a Sudanese national in a brutal attack that sparked racist riots in the city and disorder in Glasgow.
Surrounded by flags including the red hand of Ulster, Noble addressed the small crowd through a megaphone. Despite the different setting, the rhetoric is noticeably similar to Dewar’s speech in May. Noble said the UK was “a nation built upon Christian values”, and called for the government, media and police to “stop burying their heads in the sand and recognise the reality”. He was speaking days after those Belfast riots, and claimed there was “a deliberate, objective attack on our nation”. His speech ended with protestors chanting “Christ is king”.
The event was arranged by Unite the Clans, which has expressed support for Hitler’s National Socialism. The far right group is just one of an increasing number of political actors who promote Christian nationalist ideas at rallies where conservative preachers and anti-migration activists echo each other's talking points.
Many are angry at the housing of migrants in their communities, some of whom arrived after crossing the English Channel in small boats. They claim that “mass immigration” could compromise Britain’s status as a so-called “Christian nation” and migrants don’t share the same values as local people. In Scotland, demonstrators have targeted hotels housing asylum seekers. Many protests attracted figures from the far right scene, as revealed by The Ferret.
Billy Briggs
But preachers like Noble are not just taking this to the streets. Later this month he is one of several Christian right campaigners due to speak at ‘The Rise of Islam in the UK’ event which will discuss “a biblical response” to Islam. Organisers claim this will “restore confidence in the Christian foundations of our nation”.
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