Key facts
- Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams accused Nigel Farage of misusing Christianity to promote anti-Muslim sentiment.
- Williams suggested Farage's rhetoric aims to find a presentational strategy to be taken seriously outside England.
- Williams questioned Tommy Robinson's Christian discipleship in relation to his public rhetoric.
- Farage has previously made controversial statements about Muslims and British values.
- Reform UK appointed theologian James Orr as a senior adviser.
Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has accused Nigel Farage of misusing the UK’s Christianity to channel anti-Muslim feeling. Williams, who served as archbishop for 10 years until 2012, expressed skepticism about some claims to religious conviction, suggesting that figures like Farage use the idea of a "Christian society" to bolster anti-Islamist sentiments.
Williams told New Humanist magazine that anxiety about migration and anti-Islamism are significant drivers of Christian nationalism in the UK. He also noted the influence of global conservative Christian gatherings that encourage the injection of theology into nationalist movements. Williams suggested that for Farage, this approach might be a strategy to gain broader appeal.