Were Christian, say most Brits. How refreshing!

It’s not easy being a Christian in modern Britain. In recent years there has been a bad atmosphere of aggressive secularism, lurking like a dank smog. But there’s some refreshing news in the air.

Over 70 per cent of the British public is happy to call themselves Christian, new official Government figures show.

Yes, we all know that most of those people don’t attend church each Sunday or read the Bible or pray regularly. But nevertheless, despite massive secularism in education and the media, the overwhelming majority of people reject secularism and are still happy to be identified as Christian. How refreshing for Government statistics to show this.

It is worth noting that people were given the option of saying they had no religion at all if they wanted to. And about one fifth of people did so (that doesn’t mean they’re all atheists, by the way). But most people – 71.4 per cent to be precise – chose to call themselves Christian.

This was no trivial show of hands. These numbers come from a whopping great Government survey of almost half-a-million people. Just to put that in perspective: an opinion poll is generally regarded as robust if it surveys a representative sample of 1,000 people or more. This survey included almost 500 times more people than that.

The news will embarrass those urbanite celebrity atheists who seem to dominate our popular airwaves, constantly telling us that Christianity should go stand in the corner and keep quiet. In their world Christianity is a private eccentricity practiced by a tiny collection of aging oddballs and moral hypocrites.

They’re entitled to their opinion of course, groundless though it may be. But when that opinion is repeatedly and uncritically served up by the mainstream media it becomes somewhat more corrosive.

The mainstream media – films, dramas, soaps, documentaries, news – often treats Christianity as if it was something of a rare species to be observed from a distance, rather than a familiar part of everyday life for millions of Brits.

This fog of secular spin has drifted into many areas of life. It has created an atmosphere where it is OK – even commendable – to uproot Christianity from the public square. The most popular justification for this push is “equality and diversity”.

In my job at The Christian Institute I have the sobering task of helping individuals who have lost their jobs, spent time in police cells, had their businesses crushed, or had their community work de-funded – all because their Christian beliefs don’t square with the latest “equality and diversity” decree.

These men and women are some of the gentlest, kindest, most lovely people you could ever hope to meet. They’re not campaigners or activists. They’re not out to create a fuss. They’re just ordinary Christians who want to live their lives according to their faith and their conscience.

In seeking to be true to their beliefs they have each found themselves caught up in a secular whirlwind that buffeted them and pounded them in the hope of then dumping them at the margins. Thankfully, the Christian Institute and others have been able to stand fast in the midst of the storm and offer these Christians some robust protection.

This aggressive application of “equality and diversity” has cheapened the phrase. It has become disconnected from a nobler idea. Decent people believe in fair play and a sense of justice for all our citizens. But “equality and diversity” has become political-speak for something entirely different – and people know it too.

Today if you mention the phrase to the ordinary man on the street then, Christian or not, they will most likely roll their eyes, shake their heads and mutter weary discontent about political correctness. People are crying out for some authentic common sense.

Which is why these Government statistics are so refreshing. They have thrown open a window and allowed the fresh clean air of truth to blow away the stale atmosphere of secular spin. Breath deeply and smile.



Mike Judge is head of communications at The Christian Institute.