Diary of a (Maybe) Retired Pastor

A Christian Country?

… to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace, goodwill among people!’

Luke 2:11-14 New Testament, The Bible.

We really enjoy watching the detective series “Death in Paradise”.  Set in the gorgeous Caribbean, each episode begins with a grisly death followed immediately by the jaunty reggae theme tune of the series! The incongruity always makes us laugh and is possibly our favourite part of each episode. Because we enjoy it so much we also follow the spin-offs and we have been re-watching series one of “Beyond Paradise” which follows two particular characters from the original series as they re-settle in the UK. We didn’t intend to do so, but we found ourselves watching the Christmas special just as Advent began. So, wholly appropriate!

This year has seen the release of more data from the 2021 census. One of the headlines has been the report, for the first time, that less than half of the population identify as “Christian” leading to much discussion around the theme of “the UK is no longer a Christian country”. I have even been contacted by friends from the Far East bemoaning the “shocking” news.  But Christmas specials, like the one we watched last week, should, perhaps, make us pause a little before writing-off the UK as a Christian country.

This particular episode of Beyond Paradise ended with the community gathering in the town square for their Christmas celebration.  They rejoiced and celebrated peace and goodwill to all. Above all, It was full of hope for the future and, as these things are designed to do, left the viewer with warm, joyful feelings.  “Serious” Christians tend to be cynical about the Christmas season as celebrated by the wider community, and, indeed, the modern Christmas season includes much dross, but, yet, carol services are full and churches tend see more people than at any other time of the year; it is the time of year when people give most to good causes and, we, as a wider community, seek to recognise those who have quietly served their communities through the year.   

It may be the case that the numbers of people identifying themselves as Christian has fallen below half the population but as a nation we still hold closely to key elements of the message of the angels. In that sense we remain very much a Christian country. It is cultural but it is an act of faith baked into our cultural foundations, maybe this is the reason why many in the world still want to come to the UK despite the many disincentives – the message of the angels is still heard by them in this collective act of faith.

This isn’t to claim that this is a nation that knows Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, but that hasn’t been the case since the middle of the last century – if not longer. But the fact that so much of the gospel message is still retained is an encouragement to the church to continue proclaiming the full gospel of Jesus Christ so that the smouldering faith still held by the nation can be fanned into life: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born amongst us; lived amongst us; gave His life for us on the Cross; and was raised again on the third day so that all who believe in Him shall not die but have everlasting life! This is why we celebrate and rejoice at Christmas time.