CT published a slightly edited version of this article here…they entitled it “Amid calls to ‘make Britain Christian again’, here are some questions for the Church”. I will stick with my original title below!
Make Britain Great Again – Bring back Christianity.
Christian Today 27th Feb 2026
The Bradford taxi driver was insistent – despite my sceptical questioning. “Yes, they have burned down two churches – and no one can say anything about it because you will be called racist…Bradford is no longer Bradford – the Muslim influence is too strong.” That conversation a decade ago came to mind this past week when I read of two political proposals to ‘make Britain Christian again’ or ‘keep Britain Christian’.
Rupert Lowe, the leader of the Restore party tweeted ““Britain is a Christian country, and under a Restore Britain Government – it will remain a Christian country.” Meanwhile Reform UK stated that they would grant some 40,000 UK churches listed status to stop them being converted into mosques. Zia Yusuf who acts as Reforms ‘shadow home secretary’ promised that this would prevent alterations affecting their historic character and would restrict change of use. What is intriguing is that Mr Yusuf, a Muslim, argues that this is required to restore Britains Christian heritage and to ensure that Britain remains Christian to its core. All this is deemed necessary because of ‘the sheer quantities of people that came to the country in a short period of time”
There were various Christian responses to this. Some welcomed it, seeing it as a good and necessary intervention in what could be termed the ‘religious culture wars. Others regarded it as a cynical move by what they perceive as ‘the Far Right’ seeking to capitalise on Christian symbolism in pursuit of their political ends. A common response from not a few evangelical leaders was along the lines of the MP, Stuart Anderson, who tweeted “Christianity is not about buildings. It is about having a relationship with Jesus. Knowing He is the way the truth and the life and sharing this wonderful news.”
That is of course true. But it is also a truism which falls into the trap of making an either/or case when the situation is more complex. The fact that there is a greater truth, does not mean that there are not lesser ones. Whilst Christianity is about having a personal relationship with Christ and sharing the wonderful news – it is also about the implication and outworking of that news – at a personal, community and national level. No true Christian would argue that Christianity was about buildings – but there are very few who would say it has nothing to do with buildings. I find buildings very useful and would find my evangelism much hindered without the great old building that is Scots Kirk, Newcastle. I thought of Mr Anderson’s remarks on a stopover in Istanbul. I wanted to go and see the Hagia Sophia, probably the grandest church building ever built. But sadly, I couldn’t – not only because of time constraints but also because it has been turned into a Mosque and since 2024, Christians have not been permitted to enter the lower hall. Maybe it’s my relationship with Jesus Christ, and my desire to see him glorified, that I feel more than a little upset that his church and people have been so colonised in this way?!
Others noted that Islam was not the problem, it was the rejection of Christianity by the native Brits which was the real reason that Britain was losing its Christian heritage. We would only get to be a ‘Christian country’ if the majority of people were truly Christian. Again, there is great truth in this. But it is not the whole truth. You do not require the majority of the population to be truly converted (how would you measure that anyway? Most of us are in churches where we cannot really determine the real percentage of real Christians are – the wheat and the tares grow together.
This also applies in terms of Islam. I am told that the majority of Iranians no longer regularly attend mosques. Does that mean Iran is not really a Muslim country? My own view is that when a town or city in the West becomes more than 15-20% Islamic, then the whole community is greatly changed. Give me 10% of a community becoming clearly Christian and there is no doubt that that community would be turned upside down!
To argue that we would need a majority of true Christians is to argue that Britain was never Christian. In a purist sense I suppose that could make sense, but in terms of historical and practical reality it’s not true. Anyone who doubts that our foundations and culture are fundamentally Christian should read Tom Holland’s Dominion. What I call the pietist approach, sounds right because it uses all the right evangelical buzzwords, and it has the advantage of us not having to worry about the state of society – because after all Jesus will sort it out in the end; but I would argue it is a lazy and unhelpful way to interpret Scripture. Just as the so-called Christian Nationalists veer too much in one direction, so the Christian pietists swing too far the other way.
Meanwhile the church progressives have also had their say. The Baptist minister Steve Chalke appeared on LBC to argue as a self-appointed ‘Christian theologian” that those who wanted to make Britain Christian again were wrong. Chalke began by arguing his usual manta – ‘Jesus wasn’t a Christian’. Rather than being the brilliant wow point that Chalke thinks, it is a rather irrational argument. Of course Jesus wasn’t a Christian – a Christian is after all someone who follows Christ and worships him. Jesus doesn’t follow and worship himself! The trouble is that Chalke seems to see the term Christian as similar to a racial identity. Just as Jesus doesn’t care about what colour your skin is, so he doesn’t care about what religion you have. That’s about as far away from the Christ of the Bible as you can get. If Chalke meant Jesus welcomes everyone from whatever religious background, as long as they turn to him in repentance and faith, then what he says would be true. But he is using the term ‘inclusive’ to suggest that Jesus would have no problem with someone being a Muslim – someone who de facto because of their religion denies who Christ is (the Son of God) and what he did (died on the cross for our sins).
And here we come to the elephant in the room. How strange it is that a Muslim like Yusuf seems to grasp it more than a ‘Christian’ minister like Chalke! The question that both Lowe and Yusuf are referring to is the rise of Islam, and the decline of Christianity within Britain. Whilst it is true that the rise of Islam has not caused the decline of Christianity – it is also true that Islam, in conjunction with their allies (for now!) the Green Progressives will accelerate the death of Christian Britain, and will result in discrimination and persecution against real Christians.
There are church leaders who are rightly concerned about the use of religion in politics, by some of the political right. But if that disturbs them – wait until they see what Islam has coming for us all! Islam is as much a political system as it is a religion. Islam means submission – and it brooks no rivals. There is no separation of ‘church and state’ in Islam. Islamic law must prevail. And to that end Islam uses many means – not least the willingness to ally themselves with those who on paper would be their enemies. Think of the strange alliance between the progressive Greens and the radical Islamists. Only in the postmodern suicidal West could you have ‘Queers for Palestine’ supporting an organisation that wants to criminalise and kill queers. The one thing that binds them together is the hatred of the West – and Israel and the Jews.
It is fine, and right, for Christian leaders to warn about too close a link between Christianity and the political Right. As long as they are equally vocal in challenging the link between progressive Christianity, Islam and the political Left. But I have noted far too often, a deafening silence. Or sometimes even worse. Some evangelical leaders even speak of the similarities between Christian ethics and Islamic. Again, there is some truth to that, and I can see the attraction of it – which is why it is so dangerous. As I type this, I am on a long Turkish Airlines flight to Sydney – it is fascinating to observe that all the ‘naughty’ words (swearing, sex references) have been bleeped out of The Big Bang Theory (and I assume other programmes). Very ‘family friendly’. But does that mean I have to ignore the sexual abuse and denigration of women in some Islamic cultures (the effects of which have been clearly seen in some parts of the UK)? Does that mean I have to keep silent about the intolerance and abuse of Christians, and homosexuals in Islamic regimes? Because I admire Turkish Airlines should I stay silent about the 300 missionaries, pastors and Christian workers recently expelled from Turkey, our NATO ally? What fellowship does light have with darkness?
When your view of buildings and the spirituality of Christianity leads you to ignore the injustice of a government giving 40 million to protect mosques, and 5 million to protect churches then perhaps you need to tweak your thinking a little? I know the church is not a building, but can you really see nothing unjust in the government cutting the 42 million budget to just 23m for the year, whilst at the same time increasing funding for mosques?
What would those who are so sanguine about Britain being Christian say to my Bradford taxi driver? Would they call him a racist for being concerned that Bradford now has over 168,000 Muslims (a third of the population)? Would they dismiss his story of churches being burned as a conspiracy theory? It may be entirely coincidental that another two churches have been mysteriously burned to the ground this week – just as it may be entirely coincidental that countries with a large Muslim immigrant population, such as France and Canada, have seen a significant increase in church vandalism and burning. But I not so sure.
The late great Christopher Hitchens warned years ago that people needed to speak out about what he called ‘the Barbarians within the gates’ before it was too late. He was particularly referencing Christian leaders who seemed to either ignorant or silent about the dangers facing the church in this country. Maybe an atheist like Hitchens was not the best spokesperson in defence of the church? Maybe Restore and Reform are not the best people to speak up for Christianity? But if not – who will?
Quantum 375 – The Islam Special – For All TIme and the latest Janet Parshall show..