There is, quite rightly, a storm of protest brewing from Christians at all levels about the claim of BNP Leader Nick Griffin to represent "Christian Britain" - with former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey one of the latest heavyweight figures to challenge his claim.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the whole Question Time episode (and opinion seems to be changing daily on what the fallout might be) this claim of Griffin's is arrant nonsense and seems if anything to display a disconnection from reality. For example this article from 2006 includes research that shows that churchgoing is at a higher level among ethnic minorities than among what Griffin laughably describes as the "Indigenous population" - so Christian Britain (a term that Ekklesia points out means little in any case) is increasingly Afro-Carribean and African, particularly in the big cities - in London it's getting on for half of those who go to church, and in Manchester I can see the trend going the same way. And I rejoice that we have people who are committed to the way of Christ, whose love is for all, whatever their ethnic background may be.
What worries me about the likes of Griffin is that he's a political opportunist at a time when disenchantment with politicians in general means that many are looking for alternatives to the mainstream. At the moment the BNP seems keen to portray itself as the custodian of the Bulldog Spirit, the plucky little underdog that's going into battle against the big bad political giants - and yet when you consider their political background and history, you realise that all that's really changed from the bad old days of the National Front etc is that they've done what many other political parties have done and rebranded. Griffin and his party are more dangerous because they're shrewder than some have given them credit for: they're managing to pick up disenchanted voters by making themselves seem that little bit more respectable. Griffin didn't need to win any sort of debate on QT, he just needed to look and sound relatively personable and effectively not be a Neanderthal in a Combat 18 T-Shirt - for those who might be likely to say "I'm not a racist but...." that could well be enough.
Whatever he may say, when Griffin talks of "Christian Britain" let no-one be in any doubt: he does not speak for me, or the vast majority of those who actually go to church (and I wish I could say for all) - I do not regard the policies of his party, or his attitude to others such as Muslims, as remotely representing the love of Christ or the position of Christianity as a whole.
