The public sector at prayer

6 March 2010

The government’s fiercely secularist agenda has turned very few Christians into Tory voters. Damian Thompson asks
why the Churches have kept faith in New Labour

Gordon Brown’s Cabinet is the least Christian in British history. Its members sneer at the Churches’ teachings about sexuality. They bully faith schools with relish, making them talk to primary schoolchildren about sexual intercourse. They are just about to force Catholic schools to advise teenage girls on where to procure an abortion. They want to compel religious institutions to employ people whose beliefs run entirely counter to the values of those institutions. They favour ‘assisted dying’ and are surreptitiously working to enshrine it as a legal right. This is hard-edged, doctrinaire secularism of a variety that even Tony Blair couldn’t stomach. Admittedly, his government didn’t ‘do’ God, but this lot want to do Him in.

Britain’s Christians, you might expect, would be deserting Labour in droves. Not so. According to an opinion poll last month commissioned by the think tank Theos, support for the Tories among Christians had crept up by only two points since the last general election. In contrast, ‘unbelievers’ — that is, people who say they have no religious faith and who probably agree with Harriet Harman on abortion, gay marriage and the delusional nature of faith — had moved 13 points in the Tory direction.

It’s true that, among the 62 per cent of respondents who identify as Christians, Cameron had 40 per cent of the vote, as opposed to Labour’s 30. He also scored higher among strongly committed Christians (42 per cent) — but then so did Labour (33 per cent). However you read them, these figures are broadly in line with the general electorate.

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sara kovach clark

March 5th, 2010 8:02pm Report this comment

I share Damien's frustration with the Labour Government and the mainstream Churches lack of challenge. However apart from a few noises in the direction of support for family life and individual Tory MPs talking about reducing abortion time limits, I see nothing in the Conservative party that makes me think they will challenge the "equality" agenda at all. Added to that their commitment to slashing public expenditure quickly, which many economists feel would be disastrous for our economy-whats to vote for? I'd love to get this Government out-but who is going to replace them and give us any hope of change?

Tom

March 6th, 2010 1:18pm Report this comment

Perhaps the main reason churches have stuck with Labour is because most Christians aren't insular voters. Christians are supposed to 'consider others better than themselves'. In a time when the Conservative party still insists upon tax cuts for the rich, and a thorough-going neglect for the poor and the marginalised, why would their allegiance switch? 'Traditonal Christianity' is far more concerned about poverty and justice than secularism.

John D

March 7th, 2010 3:07pm Report this comment

Thank you, Damian Thompson, for stating the case and issuing a clear indictment against cynical New Labour. Keep it up. Not too much for Christians to look forward to in the Tories, if Mr. Cameron speaks the truth on what he will do if he holds the reins. With 'conservatives' like this, people of the Christian faith don't need enemies. Are Christians paying attention? Perhaps they are, but don't think their complaints will be heard. Or perhaps too many of us have been intimidated into silence.

Yam Yam

March 11th, 2010 9:49am Report this comment

Once again, this narrative falls into the presumption of lumping all Christians together.

However, I think you will find that there is a world of difference between the collectivist mindset of much of the Catholic and Anglican leadership, for example, and the more self-reliant, individual-centred social activism of the evangelical churches.

Evangelical church leaders also tend to be under fewer illusions about the propensity for an all-powerful secular (or should that be 'politically-correct') state increasingly seeking to proscribe their churches from proclaiming traditional Biblical teaching about matters of personal and sexual morality.

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