WHEN mosques were attacked this summer by racists wrapped in Union flags, some were also wrapped in Christian imagery. They claimed to be defending “Christian Britain” from Muslims and asylum-seekers. In the wake of the riots, SCM Press decided to publish this book a month earlier than planned.
On one level, the book is a collection of academic papers — although it is more useful and wide-ranging than that term suggests. It is full of helpful insights, information, and ideas of use to Christians wanting to resist the far Right.
It is basically a response to The Claim to Christianity: Responding to the far Right, a 2020 book by Hannah Strømmen and Ulrich Schmiedel. This new book is divided into four sections, each with two chapters on aspects of the subject, followed by a thoughtful response from Strømmen and Schmiedel.
Oddly, no one reading the blurb on the back would know that this is a follow-up to a previous book. It is described as a response to the far Right in UK society. While much of the book is concerned with the UK, chapters also cover examples from Norway, Sweden, and Lebanon. It will be a shame if readers are put off on finding that the book’s content does not match the publishers’ description.
All but one of the contributors share most of Strømmen and Schmiedel’s approach, while sometimes disagreeing with certain aspects. Nick Spencer, for example, offers them “two and a half cheers”.
Central to Strømmen and Schmiedel’s analysis is the rejection of straightforward distinctions between “authentic” and “hijacked” Christianity. Helen Paynter urges us “to be honest about the Church’s historic and contemporary complicity with violence and othering”. She cites polling that suggests that churchgoing Christians in Britian are more likely than the general population to believe that British culture is superior to others.
Shenaz Bunglawala helpfully points to the “respectable” face of the far Right found in mainstream politics. James Crossley warns against giving the impression that opposition to the far Right means supporting existing social structures.
One of the most important themes concerns the ways in which Christians should seek contact with the far Right. William Allchorn describes Luton church leaders holding meetings with far-Right figures such as Tommy Robinson. Such dialogue demonstrates a refusal to demonise, but risks legitimising the likes of Robinson. Examples of more confrontational responses include Henrik Fykberg’s story of the Swedish town of Råslätt, where a Lutheran church responded to a rally in a public square by ringing their church bells to drown out far-Right speakers.
I suggest that such debates could be illuminated by reflection on the meaning of Jesus’s teaching that we should love our enemies. Surprisingly, the concept of loving enemies is not once mentioned explicitly in this book, although it is implicit at times.
For me, the most helpful parts of the book are the examples of church responses to the far Right in local communities. I would have preferred to see more of these, along with practical advice for Christians seeking to organise such responses. Perhaps this would be a different book, but it would be an extremely useful addition to this one.
Symon Hill is Free Church Chaplain at Aston University, and a history tutor for the Workers’ Educational Association.
The Church, the Far Right, and the Claim to Christianity
Helen Paynter and Maria Power, editors
SCM Press £40
(978-0-334-06549-4)
Church Times Bookshop £32
This post was originally published on here
