Christian nationalism in the UK: A view from Northern Ireland

Whilst many view Christian nationalism as a peculiar feature of American ​‘MAGA culture’, events, like Tommy Robinson’s ​‘Unite the Kingdom’ marches, have combined Christian imagery with a nationalistic, anti-immigration sentiment. 

However, Christian nationalism is not a new phenomenon within the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland was, and still is, a place where religious belief is closely tied to political ideologies. Irish nationalism and Ulster loyalism are inextricably linked to either the Catholic or Protestant church, and Union flags or the Irish tricolour are frequently used to signify the political and religious affiliations of an area. Paramilitary organisations frequently harnessed religious language, viewing themselves as foot soldiers in a spiritual conflict. 

Sponsored

The Ulster Defence Association (UDA), a loyalist paramilitary group, used the Latin phrase Quis Separabit (who shall separate) as their motto, clearly alluding to the words of Romans 8:35, ​“who shall separate us from the love of Christ”.  This form of nationalism often rises out of fear. In Ulster it was fear that the border and Protestant culture would disappear, whilst more recent forms of nationalism tend to be grounded in a fear of mass immigration and the growth of Islam.

Despite its changing social and cultural landscape, Northern Ireland remains a more religiously conservative place than both its southern and eastern neighbours. Churches are dotted around every street corner, whilst walls and lampposts often display Bible verses to passersby. 

Northern Ireland’s demography has been largely shaped by the denomination of the settlers who arrived on Ulster’s shores. The northeastern corner of the country continues to have the highest concentration of Protestants, and the greatest density of Presbyterian churches. This is reflective of the many Scottish Presbyterians who arrived on the northeastern coast in the 17^th century Ulster Plantation. 

Meanwhile counties located south of Belfast, like Down and Armagh, tend to be home to a larger number of Anglican churches, reflecting the influence of Anglican settlers arriving from England. Regions to the west of the country are primarily the areas in which the Catholic church is the strongest. These denominational patterns are an enduring feature of this region’s history, and they show how Northern Ireland has been fundamentally shaped by both Christianity and settlement.

With a population divided between Catholicism and Protestantism, sectarianism has been a consistent feature of Irish history. In the late 19^th century, unionist fears of an Irish Home Rule parliament prompted some to coin the phrase ​“Home Rule is Rome Rule”. Unionists feared constitutional change would lead to a powerful clerical influence in Ireland, and a state in which the Catholic church reigned supreme. 

In 1912 around 500,000 Ulster Protestants signed the Solemn League and Covenant pledging to defend the Union against this Home Rule ​‘conspiracy’. They did so with the sure confidence that God would defend their right to refuse the authority of any Irish parliament.

The Government of Ireland Act divided Ireland into two self-governing polities, with partition being enacted in 1921. In one address James Craig, Northern Ireland’s first prime minister, described his ambition to lead a ​“Protestant parliament and a Protestant state”. As the leader of Northern Ireland’s executive, Craig was not squeamish about tying his politics to his firm defence of the Protestant faith.

The south of Ireland had long been dominated by the influence of the Catholic church. Not only was it thought to have a monopoly on salvation, but it also had a major impact on people’s day-to-day lives. The Protestant minority often experienced discrimination with evidence of murder, disappearances, eviction, intimidation, arson, land seizures, looting and boycotting. 

Similarly in Northern Ireland the Catholic minority regularly faced discrimination. It is widely thought that a 1968 demonstration in Derry/​Londonderry over housing rights and gerrymandering led to the start of the Troubles. The discriminatory allocation of social housing was often used as a means of marginalising Catholic communities, cementing the Protestant ascendancy. 

The protest quickly descended into violent clashes between protesters and members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), as tensions boiled over and ultimately escalated into a wider conflict.

Northern Ireland’s mixing of politics and Christianity was once again seen in the founding of one of the country’s biggest political parties. Rev Ian Paisley remains a household name throughout the country, well known as a prominent Protestant leader whose firebrand preaching attracted vast crowds. 

Paisley went on to establish both the Free Presbyterian Church and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). To this day the DUP remains the largest unionist party, and therefore it forms part of the power-sharing executive as established by the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Throughout his career Paisley became synonymous with the phrases ​“no surrender”’ and ​“for God and Ulster”, which simultaneously symbolised his strong Christian convictions and his deep attachment to the nation state.

This Ulster evangelical ethos was infused by covenantal Calvinism. A belief system motivated by the idea that state covenants should reflect God’s laws. It was believed that if the state followed God’s laws, God would bless it. If it disobeyed God’s laws, God would curse it. 

This conviction provided a powerful theological justification for the pursuit of sociopolitical power. Ulster Protestants feared the havoc caused by the spread of Catholicism, and therefore they felt duty bound to maintain God’s blessing at whatever cost. 

Both nationalists and loyalists willingly used violence in order to achieve their aims. Although the Troubles were primarily rooted in constitutional and cultural disputes, religion added an additional layer of division and complexity. 

Whilst attacks on places of worship were rare during the Troubles, they did occur. On one cold, November night in 1983, members of the Catholic Reaction Force opened fire on worshippers in a rural Pentecostal hall in Darkley, South Armagh. The attackers targeted Darkley purely because the worshippers were Protestant, as they sought to retaliate for previous attacks on Catholics.

With this troubled, historical backdrop Northern Ireland is a country that is uniquely placed to speak into discussions on Christian nationalism. Ultimately as Christians we believe that human beings flourish when we live within the parameters God has set for us. 

Our Western legal system is largely a reflection of the Christian traditions upon which our nations are founded, a tradition that values fairness, peace, and justice. To tell Christians who are involved in politics to leave their faith at the door is unwise. 

Our belief in the gospel should transform every aspect of our lives including the way we approach politics and leadership. Everyone in politics regardless of their religious belief, or lack of it, approaches politics with a particular ideology and world view. No one is neutral. 

Nationhood and culture matters and it is often good and God-glorifying. After all Revelation tells us that a diverse group will gather from ​“every tribe, tongue, and nation”, worshipping God together for all eternity. However, problems arise when we turn our national identity into something ultimate, deifying our nations by giving them a God-like status. 

God has placed each of us in our towns and countries at a specific time, with a specific purpose. We are called to care for them and to seek their prosperity. However, the pattern throughout scripture is clear: earthly kingdoms will rise and fall but God’s kingdom is an everlasting one. As we approach conversations about Christian nationalism, we need to be careful about conflating the two, recognising only one nation will last into eternity.