In Britain, 2025 was the year when some prominent figures started identifying themselves as Christian nationalists; and the year the UK Church woke up to the issue. The term is used by different people in different ways – by some as a slogan and by some as a well- developed political idea. If we work with the broad definition of the co-mingling of ‘Christianity’ with nationhood (and sometimes, but not always, with Whiteness), then should the Church be concerned? And if so, how might we respond?

‘Be concerned, but not anxious’

We should be concerned, in my view. We should be concerned to see the Christian message – of God’s scandalous grace poured out through the weakness and folly of the cross – co-opted to promote a movement which can be belligerent, exclusionary, hateful, even violent. We should be concerned, secondly, because this political moment emboldens some in our society to act hatefully towards others, especially towards Muslims, immigrants, and people of colour. Thirdly, there are people in our political spaces now seeking to undermine vital democratic freedoms (e.g. freedom of religious expression, the independence of the press). Finally, we should be concerned about the longstanding faultlines which these movements expose and exploit: structural deprivation in rural and inner-city communities, the deep disenfranchisement experienced by many in the working class and underclass. So I suggest that we should be concerned – but not anxious. We should have confidence in the quiet work of loving our neighbours and bringing and being ‘good news to the poor’, as many churches already do week in, week out. Such is the yeast from which the Kingdom of God grows. We can be confident God will grow it in his way and in his time.

What more might we do? First, let’s not treat love and understanding as a zero-sum game. We should love our recently-arrived neighbours and those who seek to repatriate them. Let’s not respond to those spreading vitriol or shouting aggressively by mirroring their behaviour. Think twice before counter-demonstrating. Let’s offer a positive vision, not fight a negative one.

Second, theological and biblical literacy are paramount. The ‘thin’ slogans promoted by some of these groups can seem quite appealing to the unwary. For example, why might a ‘Christ is King’ banner on a political platform be problematic? We need congregations that instinctively ask hard questions about the theological content of such slogans. What form of kingship is being invoked? The sort that rides into Jerusalem on a donkey and wears a crown of thorns?

‘Meet this challenge with faith and grace’

There are lots of practical things that we might consider doing. How can we develop our intercultural understanding and religious literacy? How can we partner with agencies addressing deep inequalities in our society? How can we exercise critical thinking and develop tools for dialogue? How can we help young people to feel welcome and included in our churches, in order to reduce their risk of being co-opted into bad- faith movements?

It’s time for the British Church to rise to this challenge with faith, grace, and creativity. With concern, but not with anxiety. Christ is King, after all.

Helen Paynter is the Director of the Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence