The Unite the Kingdom rally in London on Saturday was striking not only for its politics, but for its symbolism. Amid the speeches, chants, and anger over the direction of Britain, there were crosses held aloft, prayers offered, Christian flags waved, and repeated appeals to the nation’s ‘Christian heritage’.
Some who attended would no doubt insist they were simply defending Christian civilisation from cultural collapse and the advance of radical Islamism. Yet the sight of explicitly Christian rhetoric wrapped so tightly around a populist political movement ought to give believers pause.
Look, I get it. Many Christians are fed up. I sympathise with why some are drawn towards public figures who do not sneer at them or dismiss their beliefs as hateful relics from a bygone age. For years, socially conservative Christians have been caricatured by politicians, broadcasters, and commentators simply for holding biblical convictions on the sanctity of life, marriage, sexual ethics, and gender.
I should know. I spent years as a media spokesman discussing those very issues, often only to be met with contempt by the lanyard elites in major newsrooms and broadcasting studios. So I understand the appeal of anyone who appears willing to stand against the cultural tide. It’s very tempting. And yet understanding the attraction is not the same as endorsing the movement.
Christians should be especially cautious when political figures begin speaking our language. Tommy Robinson may well identify genuine problems. The rise of fundamentalist Islam in parts of Britain is a serious concern. Christians should not be naïve about ideologies that oppose religious liberty, persecute believers abroad, and reject many of the freedoms that have shaped this country.
Robinson also speaks frequently about Britain’s Christian roots, and there is something refreshing in hearing public acknowledgement that Christianity has profoundly shaped our laws, institutions, and moral framework. But rhetoric about Christianity is not the same thing as the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus did not come to revive a civilisation, but to save sinners. He did not gather a political tribe, but built a kingdom ‘not of this world’ (John 18:36). Christ consistently resisted attempts to turn his mission into a political project.
After the feeding of the five thousand, the crowds wanted to make him king by force, but he withdrew from them (John 6:15). His kingdom advances not through outrage, tribalism, or force of personality, but through repentance, faith, and the preaching of the cross.
There is always a temptation for Christians to hitch the gospel to a political movement that appears momentarily useful. But history shows where that road can lead. The church loses its prophetic voice when it becomes too closely identified with worldly power.
Those of us from a dissenter evangelical tradition — heirs of Baptists, Independents, Presbyterians, and nonconformists who often stood apart from the established state church — should know this better than most. Our forebears understood the danger of confusing national identity with spiritual regeneration. They believed the church must remain free to proclaim Christ faithfully, whether that challenged the left or the right.
That does not mean Christians should withdraw from public life. Far from it. We should seek the good of our nation. We should advocate for laws and policies that reflect justice, truth, compassion, and the dignity of every human being made in the image of God. Christians should speak courageously on issues where society has drifted far from biblical truth.
John the Baptist confronted rulers. The prophets addressed nations. Paul reasoned about righteousness before governors and kings. But there is a profound difference between Christians influencing politics and politics capturing the Christian imagination.
Some today speak positively about ‘Christian Nationalism’, but the phrase often means very different things to different people. If it simply means wanting Britain to be influenced for the good by Christian truth and morality, many believers would say amen to that. We long to see honesty, stability, family life, rule of law, justice, and reverence for God flourish once again in public life.
But if it means fusing the gospel with nationalism, populism, or far-right ideology, Christians must firmly refuse. The church is not the chaplain to any political tribe. Our identity is not ultimately British, conservative, or nationalist, but in Christ. ‘Our citizenship is in heaven’ (Philippians 3:20).
The apostle Paul reminds us that ‘the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh’ (2 Corinthians 10:4). Political anger cannot produce spiritual renewal. Online outrage cannot bring repentance. Cultural resentment cannot substitute for the fruit of the Spirit.
Indeed, one of the dangers in movements built around grievance is that they can easily cultivate the very sins Christians are called to mortify: bitterness, rage, suspicion, pride, and contempt for enemies. Jesus commands us not merely to defend our tribe, but to love our neighbour and even pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). That command becomes difficult to hear when politics becomes our discipleship.
None of this means Christians should ignore the challenges facing Britain. Concerns about social fragmentation, immigration, Islamist extremism, free speech, and the erosion of Christian freedoms are real and legitimate. But Christians must address them as Christians first, not as partisans first. We must resist the temptation to believe the nation can be saved by a strongman, a movement, or a rally.
Revival will not come through slogans draped in the Union Jack. It will not come through political saviours baptised in Christian imagery. It will come, if God grants it, through the ordinary means he has always used: the faithful preaching of the gospel, fervent prayer, holy living, and churches that shine as lights in a dark world. The church must never allow the banner of Christ to become merely another flag waved at a political rally.
Mike Judge will be speaking about the opportunities and the dangers that Cultural Christianity brings at the upcoming ‘God’s Glory Our Joy’ Conference, to be held on 10th October at The Emmaus Church Centre, Warrington. For more information visit ggoj.org.uk
