In days gone by the Church of England was described as the “Tory Party at prayer”. Times have changed somewhat and now Labour are well represented at different levels of the church.
This is well demonstrated by the Parliamentary interaction of two Labour MPs, Richard Baker and Marsha de Cordova. Baker, a member of the Christians in Parliament APPG, questioned de Cordova, not in her capacity as a Labour MP, but in her role as the Second Church Estates Commissioner.
Baker asked de Cordova what steps the Church of England was taking to “tackle Christian nationalism”, which he described as a “poisonous” movement of “hate and division”.
Speaking for the Church, de Cordova denounced the "unacceptable use of Christianity to exclude or intimidate others”, adding that the Church had developed a working group to advise parishes on issues such as flag flying and patriotism.
She added that, in the Church's view, Christian nationalists “are neither patriots nor Christians, and they display little or no understanding of the faith that they profess to support”.
Responding to questions on social cohesion from another Labour MP, Sonia Kumar, de Cordova said, “The Church has a long history of working across faiths to ensure community cohesion. Most dioceses have an interfaith adviser who advises clergy and congregations about their interfaith engagement, promoting community cohesion. That work is supported through the national presence and engagement programme.”
She added that bishops had set up another working group “to promote community cohesion in response to some of the deepening political polarisation”.
Many Church of England leaders have been critical of the political party Reform UK for its perceived tough stance on issues of immigration.
Former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams suggested party leader Nigel Farage was using Christianity to “channel anti-Muslim feeling”. The Archbishop of York and the Bishop of Oxford have also criticised Reform’s stance on immigration.
Farage in turn has accused the Church leadership of being out of touch with its membership, a point apparently conceded by the Bishop of Leeds who has also warned that religion could be “co-opted by unhealthy forms of nationalism”.
