The Role of Christianity in the 2024 UK Election – Juicy Ecumenism

It has now been over a decade since former Archbishop Rowan Williams declared to the Daily Telegraph that the United Kingdom is a ‘post-Christian Nation’. Indeed, for a country less than a month away from a General Election, there has been a notable absence of religion as a factor in the campaigns.
Whilst in the United States, coverage of political appeals to voting blocs of ‘white evangelicals’ or of ‘souls to the polls’ turnout drives among African Americans have become commonplace, British believers find themselves as an excluded voice from the national conversation.
For UK Christians to adapt to their current position and rediscover their role in politics, they must look to the positive impact of moral fringe voices throughout British history and see themselves as part of a diverse coalition of religious groups with a role to play in shaping Britain’s future.
What accounts for the limited influence of Christianity on UK politics? 
As of 2022, within a total UK population topping 67,000,000, figures have suggested an average weekly church attendance of 654,000, down from 1,080,000 in 2009. Since the current religious measurement metrics began in 1983, the share of those identifying as Christian has fallen sharply from over two-thirds in 1983 to just over one-third in 2018. According to research from the Brierly Consultancy, nearly 2,000 churches will have closed across the UK in the period between 2015 and 2025. UK Christians are simply not a big enough demographic to warrant serious attention. 
In a recent study by the Think Tank Theos, research has revealed that the majority of British Christians vote in line with the general population. The 2024 study listed Roman Catholics and ‘Other Christian’ groups, such as Presbyterian, Methodist, Evangelical, Pentecostal etc, as having registered ‘no clear common party preference’. Only Anglicans, who make up around 40 percent of UK Christians, have been found to distinctly favour one political party (the Conservative Party). Even within the Anglican church there is great diversity of theological belief and practice, let alone political stances. Without an organized and united political mobilization, the major parties have inevitably looked elsewhere for votes.
In a famous response to former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s intention to discuss his religious beliefs publicly, his strategy and communications advisor Alistair Campbell bluntly stated: “We don’t do God”. 
Within the major parties, leaders and MPs have faced significant opposition because of their religious views. In 2017, after continuous scrutiny of his religious positions, Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron announced his resignation from his position as party leader, stating that ‘remaining faithful to Christ’ had become ‘incompatible’ with his position as party leader. Only last year, in the competition for Scottish National Party leader, MP Kate Forbes found her campaign stalled by repeated questions over her views on abortion or same sex marriage. Parties are now apprehensive about fielding candidates with countercultural religious views on issues of gender, sexuality, abortion.
Looking back to move forward 
Rather than dwelling on their lack of influence, and by doing so burying their proverbial talents in the ground, Christians must recognize their capacity to orchestrate change despite numerical inferiority. By looking to the great history of changes achieved through the efforts of a moral minority, UK believers may be spurred on in their moral responsibility towards the nation.
At the forefront of the Anti-slavery movement, figures such as William Wilberforce acted on their biblically based moral convictions to bring together a fringe movement advocating for an end to the Transatlantic slave trade. Puritans and Pietist sects advocated for an expansion of literacy and broader education across Britain. Christian ideals of social responsibility were crucial in providing the support that would enable the National Health Service. 
Beyond the well-established influences of a Judeo-Christian ethic on Western morality, minority religious groups have a long history of vocal advocacy within British politics. In harnessing motivation from the great history of religious influence on British political history, Christians might still be able to influence politics on a range of issues in protecting freedom of religion, free speech, environmental sustainability, social welfare, and advocacy for the unborn. 
In the place of a strong Christian influence on the political landscape, today’s Anglicans/Catholics/Baptists must face up to a nation that is far more religiously pluralistic. Christians would do well to see themselves as part of a diverse coalition of faith communities. While church attendance has decreased, and irreligiosity has increased, there are still an estimated 4 million Muslims, 1 million Hindus, half a million Sikhs and a plethora of different religious groups who seek to defend many of the same issues. 
For a people called to be ‘salt and light’ in this world, Christians must look back to past encouragements of change brought about by small but powerful voices, and forwards to a future in which shared values with other faith groups can be harnessed. By speaking out, and building bridges with others, Christians in this election and beyond can rediscover their place in politics, and help promote a stronger, more moral Britain.
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