The UK is officially post-Christian. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/nov/29/leicester-and-birmingham-are-uk-first-minority-majority-cities-census-reveals">It is “the first time in a census of England and Wales that fewer than half of the population have described themselves as Christian.” </a>
This news was greeted gleefully by the National Secular Society. “It’s official – we are no longer a Christian country,” said Stephen Evans, the chief executive. “The census figures paint a picture of a population that has dramatically moved away from Christianity – and from religion as a whole. The current status quo, in which the Church of England is deeply embedded in the UK state, is unfair and undemocratic – and looking increasingly absurd and unsustainable.”
The National Secular Society has long campaigned against the privileges given to the Church of England and as a Catholic I have mixed views about this. But we should be careful about what we wish for. Rightfully, Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury has warns us that nature abhors a vacuum.
Bishop Davies said: “A census indicating little more than 46 per cent of the population now declare themselves Christians while more than 37 per cent say they are without any religion presents a challenge not only to Christians in the task of new evangelisation but a profound challenge to British society that is founded and built on Christian values. We are witnessing a drift from our Christian moorings, more, it would seem, by default than conviction. People cannot live long in a vacuum, and if Christianity is not rediscovered as our guiding light, then society will increasingly become vulnerable to passing and often dangerous ideologies.”
There are several observations to be made on this shift. First, the National Secular Society is wrong to say Britain is no longer a Christian country. A majority of British people may no longer describe themselves as Christian, but as Bishop Davies says, British society is founded and built on Christian values. I for one believe, perhaps naively, that these values are deeper than people acknowledge. Much public debate for instance still focuses on protecting the vulnerable – be it in healthcare, education, or immigration policy. The only reason we focus on the vulnerable is because Jesus said, the last shall go first and the first shall go last. Before Christianity it was seen as slightly unhinged, even downright stupid, to spend your time worrying about the weak and vulnerable. They were worthless. It was strength and power that counted. The rise of Christianity turned this on its head.
But Christianity has certainly been under sustained attack and forced from the public square. A truly post-Christian society would be a dystopia where I think the strong and powerful would once again be favoured. In practical terms there will be fewer children and families: this is already happening. There will be less kindness and more hostility towards each other. We can already see this in the way “anti-social” social media operates. I suspect there will be less joy – it will be a place where the party-poopers reign, ruining family gatherings by taking offence and flying into a rage (as wrath is no longer seen as a sin) at the slightest slight. What I also notice in public debate at least, is the total lack of forgiveness offered to anyone who transgresses the accepted orthodoxy. They often face brutal ostracisation – even from their own families.
Ordinary Catholics must do everything in their power to stop the slide to a post-Christian culture. Abby Day, a professor of race, faith and culture at Goldsmiths, University of London, notes: “Baby boomers lost their religion in the 1960s and raised their millennial children to be non-religious. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/29/why-is-the-christian-population-of-england-and-wales-declining">That’s why the number ticking ‘Christian’ on the census has dropped as older people die out and younger people select the category of ‘non religion’</a>.”
As usual the baby boomers have a lot to answer for. They themselves enjoyed a Christian upbringing and then failed to pass on the tradition to their children. It will take a lot of energy to undo the damage caused by the boomers, but it can be done. The very first step starts with bringing your child to Mass as often as you can and observing Christian feast days and celebrations in a Christian manner. It also means living a joyful life, despite the challenges. As Christians we still have a lot to be joyful about.
<em>(Photo of Bishop Mark Davies by Simon Caldwell)</em>
