Social media and rallies drive growth of Christian nationalism in UK

Christian nationalism is not only an insidious force in the far-right policies of the United States but is gaining influence across Europe.

In the U.S. and abroad, Christian nationalism grows by spreading polarizing, sensational rhetoric through social media and public rallies. The result in both Europe and America is policies that proliferate racial prejudice and radicalize voting populations toward conservative values.

In Eastern Europe, “the groups that are engaging in this Christianist style of continent politics seem to be groups who perceive themselves as having lost out,” says Cambridge University professor Marietta Van Der Tol, speaking at the Keeping the Republic Conference at University of Notre Dame.

Van Der Tol said Russian Orthodox followers, nationalists from Serbia, Hungary and places and peoples that suffered political and economic losses during and after the Cold War are looking to rectify their losses by spreading the idea that a nation based in a certain kind of Christianity will bring power and moral righteousness to the nation. As in America, they also want to limit opposition from those whom they blame as a threat to the nation’s well-being.

Those who spread Christian nationalism do so by using methods that aren’t always easy to counteract. For example, mass rallies and protests have occurred in the U.S. and Europe.

“As in America, they also want to limit opposition from those whom they blame as a threat to the nation’s well-being.”

On Sunday, May 17, not only did U.S. President Donald Trump host a “rededication” of the United States to Christianity through a massive prayer event held on the National Mall but the event was picked up by news sites across the world.

Trump was accused of promoting “an idea of American identity rooted in whiteness and Christianity.”

However, this rally differed from the ones that usually take place in Europe. European assemblies usually aren’t backed by the government or by specific religious institutions. Instead, they are supported by church leaders working independently of Christian organizations, as well as Christians unaffiliated with any specific church. They seek to create change in government and the legal system that align with their ideals, and they use Christianity as a way to claim legitimacy of their moral righteousness.

The UK has seen many of these kinds of assemblies with the rise of anti-Islamic sentiments. Cerion Dewar is one such priest leading the movement of Christian nationalism through public assembly, He works closely with Tommy Robinson, who has been credited with spearheading the Christian nationalist movement in the UK. Both have led rallies to encourage Christian nationalism in the UK, but they’ve also taken to platforms such as news networks and YouTube.

Social media is one of the primary methods that Christian nationalists spread their rhetoric because of how quickly their content can be picked up by a wide audience and how effectively social media persuade people.

During an interview with Professor Maria Power from the University of Oxford’s Blackfriars College, we discussed how Christian nationalists, both in Ireland and the rest of the EU, are able to effectively use social media to disperse their rhetoric.

“They’re quite internet savvy, and I don’t know if you’ve had the joy of reading some of their content on Instagram or TikTok. Um, It’s quite well made and quite persuasive,” she said.

The reasons that people are drawn to Christian nationalism usually include their negative feelings concerning current events and modern history — such as uncertainty, isolation, powerlessness, fear and distrust. In this decade alone, COVID, the Russia-Ukraine war, attacks on Gaza and the rest of the Middle East, inflation, recession, and many other disasters have left people looking for guidance in places they weren’t looking before, according to published reports.

“I think a lot of people since COVID felt empty and like, something spiritually shifted and something felt wrong and like, we were being lied to and I don’t know all of a sudden it felt like, this sort of thing didn’t seem crazy anymore,” one person told The Guardian.

People also look for somewhere to put the blame for these events. Christian nationalists put the blame on nonwhite, ethnic and racial minorities. By convincing voters to support political choices against these groups, they are given an outlet for their uncertainty and the belief that they are a part of a solution to the perceived ills of society.

Racist and white supremacist policies are intrinsically linked to the idea of Christian nationalism. In creating an ideal of what a citizen of a nation should be, a white Christian who upholds certain ideals, anyone who falls outside of that ideal becomes taboo.

“Racist and white supremacist policies are intrinsically linked to the idea of Christian nationalism.”

Christian nationalist groups set themselves against people of different racial and religious backgrounds while attempting to become the dominant force in politics. Those who exist outside the ideals set by Christian nationalists are excluded and put at risk, both socially and politically.

In my interview with Power, we also discussed how Christian nationalist rhetoric can radicalize people into committing violence against minority groups.

“I think the way that the churches, in the 20th century and the early 21st century, have promoted violence in other places has been much more insidious,” she said. “And it’s happening in ways that you may not necessarily know about.”

Although some Christian nationalist leaders are loud in their derision for nonwhite members of society, more often they promote ideas and policies that create or prop up a legal system or social sphere that leaves racial and ethnic minorities more vulnerable to attack and violence.

Ultimately, Christian nationalism does not bring the benefits it claims to achieve. By linking the concept of a nation with the strict, exclusionary principals found in Christian nationalist ideology, both faith in Christianity and faith in the government are diminished.

 

Caroline Cook is a student at Baylor University who is working with BNG this summer as a Clemons Fellow. She lives in Dallas.

 

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