Christianity Belongs in the Public Square 

The Church should focus on bearing witness, not on seeking to shape politics. The latter way lies the danger of theocracy and Christian nationalism. At least that is what we are told by the great and the good, not just of traditional left but of the Church also. From high church Anglicans to the lowest church Evangelicals, all are eager to warn us of the dangers of this type of action.

Not that the Anglican Church follows that policy itself, of course – for decades we have found Bishops and Archbishops alike interfering in matters of politics, and airing their strong, generally left-leaning opinions. 

Nations apart

In the US we similarly find Anglicans denouncing right-leaning political involvement. In June 2024, the Theology Committee of the Episcopal House of Bishops called Christian nationalism ‘the gravest and most dangerous sin of today’. Not to be outdone here in the UK we find ex-archbishop Rowan Williams and other Anglican clergy denounce what they term ‘Christian Nationalism’.

For decades we have found Bishops and Archbishops alike interfering in matters of politics, and airing their strong, generally left-leaning opinions.

Yet there is a difference between what we find in the US and the UK. Fuelled by books such as Stephen Wolfe’s The Case for Christian Nationalism, the scene in the US is much more coherent and focused on whether or not Christians should focus on enacting laws which would make the US a Christian nation once again. Here in the UK we are driven by cultural Christianity and a desire to reclaim the past. We are more focused on a regret for what once was and is now lost, and a desire to recover that vanished heritage.

While we in the UK need a greater depth to our expression of Christian involvement in social affairs we should beware of following the American example too slavishly. Although we share much, we do have differing political systems and social cultures. Most importantly of all we have two very different Christian situations. One has churchgoing still accepted as part of social life and politicians who speak openly about their faith. In the other churchgoing is an oddity and it is a rare politician who is brave enough to defend Christianity.

Enforced morality?

Here our struggle begins in building a mind-set which sees direct biblical application to life itself. If the Bible does not vitally touch the way we live together it is nothing but a collection of ancient tales offering nothing more than general moral guidance.

We are told that Christians should not try to enforce morality. Every law is enforced morality. We must be clear that secular neutrality is both a myth and a failure. Every vision of society rests on a set of beliefs, and secularism has been found wanting. 

We must be clear that secular neutrality is both a myth and a failure. 

Secularism has brought about a culture in which human life from womb to sickbed is devalued. It has propagated the view that truth is malleable at best, non-existent at worst. Men can be women, in the name of fairness we can discriminate, and law no longer applies equally. And the laws which emanate from such secular views are rigorously enforced. Just government requires authority to be exercised righteously, otherwise the nation disintegrates (Proverbs 29:4).

All laws reflect values, and all laws are administered by force. Whether it be police, Crown Prosecution Service or magistrates and judges, all operate by force. Arrest, caution, fine, disbarment, imprisonment; whenever there is a punishment for breaking the law there we find force.

No neutrality

When Christians say that we should not try to create a God-honouring society they are not advocating neutrality for neutrality doesn’t exist. What they propose is that we give authority to progressive people who will enforce unchristian laws and standards by state power.

British law and its enforcement increasingly reflects unchristian values. Abortion funded by the taxpayer, gender ideology in schools and colleges – these are not neutral positions, they are aggressively anti-Christian positions backed by law and enforced by the state.

What they propose is that we give authority to progressive people who will enforce unchristian laws and standards by state power.

To accept these positions and their enforcement is to fail the unborn, our youngsters and the vulnerable in society. It also brings down our own condemnation, ‘Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people’ (Proverbs 14:34).

History tells

Christian history is full of examples of Christians changing society for the good. From the early Church onward Christians have understood that transforming the law in obedience to God was essential in transforming society for the good. When Rome became Christian society was transformed. Unwanted children were no longer left to die on the hillside but were cared for in orphanages, hospitals and care for the poor mushroomed.

This story has been repeated throughout history. Christians have built schools and universities, hospitals and legal systems. They built and transformed entire civilisations around biblical values. Politics was not separated from faith. Rather, it was seen as faith applied to government. The question is not whether Christianity will shape public life; it has already done that. The question is how. 

Christians shaping society was the norm until after the Second World War when we find secularists gradually and then in a rush overtaking and dominating the culture and thus the government. It is at this point that we find the heresy that religion is purely spiritual, a private affair that must stay out of public life.

Christian influence

‘Don’t impose your values’, ‘Keep your faith to yourself’ became the mantra of society and most dangerous of all, this was accepted by much of the Church. It sounded spiritual, humble and non-threatening. Meanwhile, it left the field open to radicals who imposed their own values and faith on society. ‘When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan’ (Proverbs 29:2).

There are tens of thousands of ordinary men and women whose concerns are ignored by the elites and who are looking for someone to listen to them. 

Christian political involvement isn’t worldly, it’s obedience. Refusing to maintain Christian-based laws and trying to expand Christian influence in society doesn’t make you more spiritual, it makes you a freeloader clinging to the vestiges of what Christians of the past built while allowing that heritage to be despoiled by cultural vandals.

Instead of looking down on the flag-waving cultural Christians as ‘very painful’ expressions of Christianity and their understanding as ‘nonsense’, the Church should be welcoming them. There are tens of thousands of ordinary men and women whose concerns are ignored by the elites and who are looking for someone to listen to them. They want something more than platitudes. They want reality, and are looking to Christ. The Church fails them at its peril.

(First published in TCW 7th Jan 2026)