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
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