by Steven Edginton on Substack (Photo: Unsplash)
An internal Home Office report urges the government to enlist churches to promote “theological resilience” against Christian Extremism, prompting accusations of anti-Christian bias.
“Nostalgia for traditionalism” and the belief that multiculturalism, immigration and liberal values threaten Christianity have been identified as features of “Christian Extremism” in leaked counter-terrorism documents.
This Substack has obtained dozens of pages from a Home Office counter-extremism unit examining “Christian Extremism”, an ideology officials link to violence and potential terrorism.
The memo proposes government partnerships with churches and other religious institutions to promote “theological resilience” against the use of Christian teachings to justify hatred or violence.
The report, written by the Research, Information and Communications Unit (RICU), was produced to inform Prevent, the government’s counter-terrorism programme, and guide Whitehall’s understanding of what officials regard as Christian radicalisation risks.
It describes the ideology as a “radical interpretation of Christianity”, stating: “Central to this is the belief that Christianity and traditional values are under existential threat from multiculturalism and immigration and so must be defended.”
Alongside views that overlap with mainstream social conservatism, officials include white supremacy and antisemitism in their broad description of Christian extremism.