The far-right are no more representative of Christianity than they are of Britain or of the working class. We must stand up and say so.

The misuse of Christian language by far-right activists in the UK has stepped up a gear in the wake of the racist and Islamophobic violence that has engulfed cities around England in the last week.

The far-right often claim that they are defending “Christian Britain” from Muslims. The “Patriot March” addressed by Tommy Robinson in London on 27^th July featured the Lord’s Prayer being recited from the stage – although the footage shows few people joining in.

But these far-right types now seem to have some actual churchgoing Christians in their ranks – and even a few clergy.

Early on Sunday morning, the far-right Twitter account @QueenBob encouraged people who had taken part in racist protests to attend church (https://x.com/KingBobIIV/status/1819990009857863766):

“Everyone who has attended a march or protest, get to church this morning.

“Tens of thousands of people, attending church, on Sunday morning, to pray for our country, and all who love her would and could change everything.

“You may not believe in God, but you do believe in your country, it’s [sic] values and your community. Stand with them in peace and prayer.”

It’s the third sentence that gives away the far-right attitude to Christianity. Go to church not because of God but because you believe in “your country”. British nationalists like church in the same way they like roast beef and driving on the left – as an aspect of British culture. The historical reality of Jesus as an Aramaic-speaking Middle Eastern refugee is an inconvenience they would rather forget.

One respondent to @QueenBob’s tweet wrote:

“Please, please come to Holy Communion this morning! You will find a warm welcome!” (https://x.com/deborahjrobert7/status/1820009939823170031).

Her feed is full of misleading comments about Muslims and retweets of Tommy Robinson.

Of course such people are an exception. Most British Christians – even centrist and moderately conservative Christians – will reject attempts by the far-right to co-opt them. On Friday, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby declared:

“Using Christian symbolism or the name of God to justify violence is offensive to everything that Christ stands for”.

Anyone with any familiarity with the Bible is aware that it includes literally hundreds of statements encouraging people to welcome refugees and migrants. The irony seems to be lost on Christian supporters of parties such as Reform UK – the semi-respectable face of the far-right – who claim to be defending Britain’s Christian heritage. Lee Anderson last week trumpeted his condemnation of a feature of the Olympic opening ceremony that referenced the Da Vinci painting of the Last Supper and which supposedly offended Christians.

Anderson and Nigel Farage seem to be torn between making excuses for the riots and trying to wash their hands as they declare themselves innocent of the violence that their rhetoric did so much to fuel.

Some far-right figures, however, seem to have no problem being associated with the riots. And we must be aware that the far-right have found a responsive, if small, pocket of support among practising, churchgoing Christians. No figure is more pivotal to this development than Calvin Robinson.

Unless you’re a fan of GB News, you have probably not heard much of Calvin Robinson. He pops up occasionally on mainstream TV, wearing his clerical collar and talking of Christian faith. What is less obvious in these moments is that his views border on Fascism (and I don’t say that lightly).

Robinson’s 357,000 Twitter followers can read him agreeing with people who call for Islam to be banned and describing LGBT+ Pride marches as “demonic”. After being declined ordination in the Church of England, Robinson joined the breakaway Free Church of England before becoming a priest in the Nordic Catholic Church (an “Old Catholic” denomination, distinct from the Roman Catholic Church).

In the last week, Robinson has repeatedly described racist rioters as “white working class people” who are upset over the murder of children.

In reality of course, most white working class people don’t react to the murder of children by attacking innocent people who have got nothing to do with murder. Robinson has little interest in the many white working class people protesting against the far-right or – for example – in white working class bricklayers who have offered their skills for free to rebuild mosques and shops attacked by racists.

Robinson is not the only one. The Christian People’s Alliance (CPA) used to be a centre-right party who combined conservative views on sexuality and marriage with criticism of the arms trade and concern about poverty. Now they seem to be a right-wing club for British supporters of Donald Trump. As late as Thursday – after the name of the Southport killer had been published – they were still suggesting that he might have been an Islamic terrorist: (https://x.com/CPA_Party/status/1818940782184735046).

On Sunday, Robinson led an online prayer service with two other right-wing priests associated with the Free Church of England, Brett Murphy and Phil Harris. Comments from attenders on You Tube included:

“I’m praying for the lost and taken, and the English boys on the streets tonight protesting” (https://www.youtube.com/live/uzP8c9RxIsc).

Robinson and his friends are thankfully a long way from building any sort of US-style Christian Right in the UK. Nonetheless, it is no longer difficult to find people who identify themselves as Christians while backing or excusing far-right violence. We need to remember that we are talking about a small group, however outrageous some of their views are (https://symonhill.org/2023/09/30/if-you-think-calvin-robinson-is-bizarre-look-at-his-supporters/). At the same time, we need to ensure that this tendency does not grow. There are three things that can be done.

Firstly, we need to see Christians and church leaders going beyond merely condemning far-right violence. They need actively to back nonviolent resistance to racism and Islamophobia, and to the economic inequalities and injustices on which Fascism feeds.

Secondly, I hope people of all faiths and none who are resisting the far-right can challenge their claims to be defending Christianity, pointing to the anti-racist and pro-migration views of many churches and the reality of Jesus’ teachings.

Thirdly, if you are involved in organising anti-racist and anti-Fascist protests, I encourage you to contact churches in your area and ask them to take part. If you’re not sure which churches are likely to be supportive, you may get an idea of their views from their websites or social media accounts. We have seen some great examples of Christians joining in the protection of mosques as faith groups come together to reject the far-right.  

The far-right are no more representative of Christianity than they are of Britain or of the working class. We must stand up and say so.

Symon Hill is a Baptist Minister-in-Training, university chaplain and history tutor for the Workers’ Educational Association. His latest book is The Peace Protestors: A history of modern-day war resistance (Pen & Sword, 2022).

Comments are closed.