Rising Christian nationalism: a threat to us all

[IwantToRetire]

Article by Humanist UK, so doesn't really reflect on the impact on women although does mention abortion rights.

But I do think that our politics are far more influenced by the US, not for any deep reasons, but so much of our TV is now americanised.

And some of the fundamentalist UD christian groups have very regressive attitude towards women.

https://humanists.uk/2025/09/17/rising-christian-nationalism-a-threat-to-us-all/

I think it caught my attention because I saw on the news a clip of one of the speaker at the tommy robinson rally, as was taken aback to some some christian preacher, shouting about making England christian again.

So I know we have the Church represented in the House of Lords, but find this sort of fundamentalist approach to religion in politics more than a bit jarring.

[Christian Nationalism] advocates very conservative Christian social policies, such as rolling back the human rights of LGBT+ people
What human rights of the alphabet people are being threatened?
Stopped reading after that. ...

I wouldn’t be surprised if same sex marriage was one

Yes Humanist UK it is a bit of a worry that dualist beliefs that have no basis in science have increasingly dictated policy in government and institutions...

I think it doesn't take much to consider what it means for women.

As i said in the OP there wasn't much about women, but if they are right that Christian Nationalism is on the rise, then it means as women we cant just disengage.

It will be more than abortion rights that they will want to take away from women.

That's one of the points of posting on FWR is hear from women their different ideas and experiences.

Not whether an article says exactly what you think.

There's nothing to worry about in the UK when you have the useless Church of England in control!

Quite. I get fed up with people looking at America and transposing their politics on to us. We are not America.

In terms of rights:

On the LGB side - There has been some rhetoric about people being allowed to refuse service to LGB people and to discriminate in employment against LGB people on the basis of the service provider’s or employer’s religious belief, to bar LGB people from adopting. Also, effectively, bringing back clause 28.

On the women’s rights side - abortion is the big one, but also some rhetoric about husband’s having a right to medical information about a wife’s pregnancy and medical treatment while pregnant, it being criminal not to follow lifestyle rules (not smoking, drinking, etc) while pregnant, rhetoric against state financial support for one parent families, rhetoric about making divorce harder, rhetoric against rape in marriage being criminal, rhetoric against the current criminal law on domestic abuse - in particular some aspects of coercion and financial abuse.

A lot, but not all, of this is pretty fringe at the moment. But if some comes in, the rest gains more of a foothold.

I think the bigger threat to women, initially, if religious nationalism gains power, is the change to discourse and social norms. That would make it harder for women to live in a way that wasn’t in keeping with social expectations, even if they legally had the rights to do so.

Humanists have destroyed any credibility I may have previously afforded them.

I don't see this as cause for alarm. Humanists UK are full on TWAW. It's another organisation I can't take seriously. Their coverage of the march is hysterical. A resurgent Christianity is the least of our worries.

Lol I doubt most of the people on that March have seen the inside of a church since they were babies. If they did they would see that it's Black Christians and a smattering of pensioners keeping the places going.

Christian Nationalism is an indirect threat here - they don't have the cultural clout that they do in America because there just isn't that fervent Christian population base, but there's plenty of evidence they are funding groups that are pushing back against women's rights. Particularly on the bodily autonomy front - if Reform were to get in at the next election (and I honestly don't know how likely that is), you can bet such groups will be trying to curry favour with them to push their agenda here.

I don't see Reform leading with an 'Abortion makes Jesus sad' line, but I can certainly see them taking money from these people and using a 'Selfish career women aren't having enough babies' angle to try to justify curtailing bodily autonomy to at least some degree.

I can't see it.
Here and now we have dark forces of the left pushing laws against trans conversion therapy. Liberalising surragacy and prostitution [sex work is real work.]
Women will have to unite and fight our corner whoever gains power.

The most prominent one being Prof Alice Roberts. You'd think someone qualified in biological and environmental anthropology would know that humans can't change sex. Which just goes to show that it's all about opinion, and not fact.

The one thing I’m not worried about is the rise of Christianity in the UK. Churchgoing has never been lower and will never recover. Opening shops on a Sunday put paid to that (and I’m not objecting to that). I am a pro-choice, pro-divorce, pro-contraception, pro-sex before marriage, gender critical church going catholic woman (if you can get your head around that mess!) and I am very aware that I will continue to be in a minority. The only churches which remain popular are some of the pastor-led African Christian churches and you won’t see many Reformers in there.

A coalition including Reform, if not a Reform govt, looks more likely by the day, and will continue to do so as long as the centre and left fail to listen.

But I dont know that Reform are anything other than vaguely noncommital CofE?

Just to repeat I am not saying anything because of America.

sometimes it feels that some just have a set of comments.

Just to repeat until I saw the news report where not just from the stage was someone saying make England christian again, which got a huge cheer, was the number of people whose idea of "England" is that it is christian.

Although I do think that whether you like it or not, most tv in the UK is copying US style, and many US tv series show a world where flag waving and religion is intergral.

So when all those people go on about immigration means we are losing our identity, the identity most people are adoptin is american.

Culture, aspirations, tv and movies, have definitely changed the UK.

Just like we now have trick or treat not Halloween, let alone the terrible end of term Prom night.

But I think the brand of Christian nationalism in America runs much deeper than prom nights or halloween. That's not to say we shouldn't keep an eye on its influence here though - there is a lot of money behind them and they will ally with anyone they think might go along with their way of thinking, Christian or not. I mean, just look at Trump - they know full well he isn't the slightest bit Christian, but they scratch one another's backs to help consolidate their power.

Yes, the article is unintentionally humorous in the way the writer knows all about the US and very little about the UK.

Separation of church and state - we don’t have that.

Reintroduction of Christian prayers to begin council meetings - the horror. They’ll be starting each Parliamentary day with prayers next!

The church Revitalisation Trust which ‘plants churches around the UK like trees’. Whatever next? Churches in every parish?

And so on. I was particularly impressed by their shock that Christians might want to evangelise and that a 2000 year old religion can sometimes play ‘the long game’.

Unrelated to TWAW crap, for my dad's funeral we had a humanist celebrant who was annoyingly stern and dogmatic. Wouldn't let us use a popular anthem that was one of my dad's favoirites, just because it mentioned "God" in one of the verses. My dad was an atheist and just liked the music. Always regretted getting the humanists involved after that.

For my mum's funeral we got this spiritualist celebrant and she was so laid back and accommodating, it was a wonderful celebration and such a contrast.

Anyway sorry to derail, this was years ago and it just reminded me what they're like. Or what one of them was like anyhow.

We have all faiths represented in the house of Lords. However, the bishops of the CofE are there as part of the constitutional settlement of the late seventeenth century (Act of Settlement, the Bill of Right etc, a result of the long revolution that started in the 1640s). Christianity is the basis of the law in the UK, and institutionalised in the monarchy and the constitution (that thing people think we do not have, but that we do, it is uncodified, not non-existent).

Christianity itself is the basis of European culture as well and cannot be disaggregated from it.

Honestly, what a lot of scare-story nonsense from Humanists UK. To imply that Britain is about to become The Handmaid's Tale is ridiculous.

To give just one example: the article mentions the Church Revitalisation Trust as if it's some sort of sinister cabale. I've had dealings with the CRT. They're a group of amiable Anglicans who want to help enliven struggling churches and spruce up old church buildings. And their CEO is a strong, capable woman (who clearly didn't get the memo that she should have stayed in the kitchen).

I find Humanists UK far creepier and more misogynistic, given their dogged, unfalsifiable faith in gender ideology.

And Humanists UK neglect to mention that the most violent, repressive regimes of all were the fanatically secularist ones from the 18th to the 20th century: the French Revolution, the USSR, Mao's China, Pol Pot's Cambodia, North Korea...

I'm sorry about that.

I've been to several.Humanist weddings/funerals, and often they talked more about Humanism than the people involved. Ironically, it was a bit like being at a Catholic event where the sermon dragged on interminably.

I find Humanists UK far creepier and more misogynistic, given their dogged, unfalsifiable faith in gender ideology
Yes I agree. Some members of my extended family are humanists. I find them far more rigid and sneering in their beliefs than most Christians I know.

Can you give any examples? I'm struggling to understand where the threat is as all you've said is it's a threat. What do they believe that's so bad?