An inclusive pariotism
Church Times
An inclusive patriotism.
25th September 2025
There was another far-right rally last weekend, this time in Glasgow. A good number of Saltires were flown, and there were the usual shouts of immigrants to go home. The rally held the weekend before in London was even more disturbing. First was its sheer size. It was estimated that between 110,000 and 150,000 people were present. Even allowing for the fact that they were no doubt bussed in from different parts of the country, this is a very significant number. Secondly, the fact that in addition to the many Union Jack and St George’s flags, there were wooden crosses and flags bearing Christian symbols. Crowds were led in chants of “ Christ is King” and encouraged to pray while being urged to defend “God, faith, family and homeland”.
Christian nationalism has long been a feature of American culture and was a major feature of the memorial for Charlie Kirk on Sunday. It been condemned by the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church ‘as an idolatry of a white supremacist national ideology that uses the Christian religion as its justification’ and as such is ‘an apostasy’ that violates the first two commandments. It has come to Europe especially in Hungary where Victor Orban claims to be defending Christian civilisation and values against Islam. Until recently this theme has been fairly subdued in Britain. Nigel Farrage, who wants to distance himself from the far right but whose message resonates with it, has occasionally talked about Judaeo-Christian values but this has not been a major element in his rhetoric. However, a straw in the wind may be the recent defection of Danny Kruger the MP for East Wiltshire from the conservatives to Reform, as he has explicitly called recently for a revival of ourselves as a Christian nation. Perhaps judging that he will not get much take up for that in the present conservative party he has more hopes of Reform.
The problem of course is that whilst God, faith, family and homeland are all good things in themselves, these slogans are being used to divide the country. An emphasis on faith, which is usually taken to mean the Christian faith, excludes those who don’t share it. An emphasis on family highlights those who do not fit the usual family pattern. An assertion of homeland immediately distances those who have come to this country from another homeland. These slogans, are being used in a highly aggressive and divisive way.
One action the government could take would be to give more attention to promoting fundamental British values. These had an unfortunate start in 2011 as they were introduced as part of the prevent programme rather than being put forward in themselves as an essential feature of our life together. They are also clumsily worded and defective but could be easily strengthened along the lines of my private members bill in the House of Lords. But even as they stand, defined as ‘democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs’ much more could be made of them. This is particularly so if it was done in conjunction with the 2010 equality act with its nine protected characteristics of religion, sexuality, race, gender etc. These values, which bind us together as a society, could act as a counter-weight to the divisive slogans of the far right.
The problem of course is that values are rather abstract and do not carry the emotional force of flags or chants, so more needs to be done. Perhaps in areas where there are significant communities of people of South Asian, African or Caribbean origin flags could be hung there, to show that the flag includes all those who are UK citizens. Recently some people have been putting inclusive messages on their St George’s flags. Perhaps churches could take the lead and encourage diverse communities to claim patriotism for themselves in this way rather than letting it be high jacked by anti-immigrant forces.
Then to those who want to lead chants of Christ is King at such rallies. I wonder if they have thought of making sure that the group they bring to such gatherings includes those who are non-white? Of course it might be dangerous for them, but it would be a sign that their Christianity is not just a form of anti-immigration protest. After all, as we know, some of our liveliest Christian congregations now are made up of people whose families originally came from outside the UK.
There is no doubt that immigration is a major explosive point in our society and any government must try seriously to address the fears expressed in some communities about the effect of this on housing and welfare as well as by rapid change in the makeup of their communities. Patrician liberalism has no place. Many people are feeling disturbed and resentful. Unfortunately this is resulting in terrible abuse to those who are different in some way, especially immigrants, and many feel vulnerable.
The swing to the right in this country and elsewhere is not just due to immigration or to anti-woke rhetoric however. It is he result of a swing away from the ideology that has dominated recent decades, in which free choice has been seen as almost the only value. Recent decades have been dominated by a combination of market and social liberalism. In the market let people buy and sell what they want. In the social sphere let them do what they want. But free choice cannot exist on its own. It needs to be embedded in a wider set of values. J.D. Vance the US Vice-President said recently that we need a post-liberal politics. But that is wrong because liberalism, that is, an emphasis on personal choice is a fundamental good of our society. We do not want to be ‘post-liberal’ but what we do need is a common good liberalism, a liberalism that is rooted in and supported by a wider set of values that make for the good of the whole community and that includes patriotism. So called ‘Blue Labour’ led by Maurice Glassman tried to get the Labour party to see this a few years ago, but met with something of a rebuff. Sadly what we are now seeing in society is a sign that a chance was missed.
The churches, in conjunction with other faith communities, have a key role at the moment in promoting a sense of social cohesion. We can thank God that Anglican Bishops in particular have in recent years have built up good relationships with other religious leaders. They have an opportunity now to affirm with them those fundamental values that we share and help communities express and symbolise an inclusive patriotism.
Richard Harries is the author of Faith in Politics? Rediscovering the Christian Roots of our political values. SPCK