The Church of England needs to wise up to fake conversions

The 2017 guidance spells out the various duties the clergy have in relation to asylum seekers. It goes far beyond the kind of charitable work most of us would expect the church to do for new arrivals to the UK – such as providing shelter, food and moral support. It details how clergy can mount a ‘personal campaign’ on behalf of asylum seekers whose claims have been rejected. It even states explicitly that, ‘If the person has converted to Christianity after a previous refusal, that may be the basis of a fresh [asylum] claim’.

On the question of sham conversions, there is just one sentence in the guidance telling clergy to be discerning – to be ‘wise as serpents and innocent as doves’. But it mostly denies there is any problem at all. It even provides a list of excuses as to why new converts might suddenly stop turning up to church services after they’ve had their all-important baptism.

Instead, the guidance says that priests should be wary of the ‘anti-immigration rhetoric’ in newspaper reports on fake converts. It warns that such stories are designed to support ‘a broader political narrative about British identity, rights and values’. It even blames the ‘EU referendum’ for stirring up this allegedly anti-migrant mood.

This guidance shows that the church is taking an expressly political position on migration. It sees enforcing the UK’s borders as inherently ‘problematic’. It casts suspicion on those who are worried about illegal migrants gaming the system.

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