We can’t tackle Christian Nationalism by pretending it isn’t Christian

New research from the think tank Theos shows that the most religiously active group in the UK is also among the most supportive of Christian Nationalist ideas. The report, Beyond ‘Christian nationalism’, argues that Christian Nationalism is driven more by culture and identity than by Christian belief. Humanists UK has welcomed the research. But it says the report’s own figures, and recent events in the UK, point to the conclusion: Christian Nationalism cannot be separated from Christianity.

The survey sorted people into five groups based on how they see the link between Christianity and being British. Theos defined two of them like this: 

‘Identity Integrationists see Christianity as fundamental to Britishness and want to defend the nation’s Christian heritage from what they see as invasive and threatening influences.

Belief Integrationists want to see Christianity integrated with Britishness but, for the most part, because they want to promote the Christian faith rather than preserve Christian values.’

In other words, Theos presents identity integrationists as the group that comes closest to Christian nationalism. It presents belief integrationists mainly as people who want to promote their faith, while acknowledging that a sizeable minority of them hold Christian nationalist views. It then argues that Christian nationalism is more about culture and identity than about faith, describing Identity Integrationists as the most nominally Christian of its five groups. 13% of identity integrationists attend Church weekly, only slightly higher than the 11% recorded for the population as a whole. For belief integrationists, weekly attendance was found to be 31%. (Incidentally, actual recorded church attendance among the population as a whole is 5% monthly.)

But many belief integrationists are still Christian nationalists too! In this group:

• 51% agree that you need to be Christian to be ‘truly British’, compared with 17% of all adults.
• 66% agree with the ‘Great Replacement’ conspiracy theory, compared with 37% of all adults.
• 62% say Britain needs ‘strong man’ leaders who are prepared to break the rules, compared with 36% of all adults.
• 53% believe god has a special plan for Britain, compared with 16% of all adults.
• 25% say political violence is sometimes necessary, the highest of any group and compared with 16% of all adults.

It is also the case that identity integrationalists are by several measures much more Christian than the population as a whole:

• 81% identify as Christian, the highest of any group and far above the 46% of all adults.
• 49% definitely believe in god, compared with 30% of adults overall.

Neither top-line description therefore fully holds up. Belief integrationists’ faith goes hand in hand with strongly nationalist views rather than standing apart from them. And identity integrationists are more Christian than average on every religious measure in the report.

Humanists UK has also worked out where churchgoers sit, using Theos’s published data. Around half of the UK’s weekly churchgoers fall within the two groups most sympathetic to Christian nationalist ideas. Yet those groups make up only a quarter of the population. The report itself notes that the more Christian someone is, the more likely they are to want Christianity and national life bound together in some way.

Christian Nationalism: A rising threat

Recent events in the UK show the same link between faith and nationalist protest. In September, masked members of the group Patriot Platform blocked roads in Dover and Portsmouth while chanting ‘Christ is King’. The group’s leader, Danny Tommo, has described it as a ‘pure Christian national resistance movement’. He has said that every member is ‘encouraged to go to church’ and that members have held gatherings inside churches. Preachers also spoke from the stage at the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally in London in September 2025. A month later, a group calling itself the ‘King’s Army’ targeted London’s gay district in Soho.

This fits with research elsewhere. A 2018 Pew Research Center study of 15 Western European countries, including the UK, found that churchgoing Christians were more likely than non-practising Christians to hold nationalist views and both groups are more likely to express nationalist views than religiously unaffiliated people.

Richy Thompson, Director of Human Rights and Advocacy, said:

‘We can’t tackle Christian Nationalism by pretending it isn’t Christian. Many of the people most drawn to Christian nationalist ideas go to church, they pray, and they say their faith matters to them. The groups on our streets chanting “Christ is King” while wearing all-black uniforms and balaclavas tell us outright that they are Christian.

‘Christian Nationalism aims to roll back freedom of thought, expression, and choice in our country. It has thugs as well as intellectuals, but they are united in their beliefs. Dividing them into different types risks creating a “respectable” Christian Nationalism that people can sign up to while distancing themselves from its rougher side. We will keep working with people of all religions and none for a country where everyone belongs equally, whatever they believe.’

Sign Humanists UK’s petition to oppose Christian nationalism here.