Are Christians afraid of nationalism…or just the working class?

Chine McDonald ponders whether Christians are really reacting to dangerous ideas — or merely to the discomfort of sharing church with people from different classes and cultural backgrounds

Over the past couple of years, I’ve been in many rooms where a sense of anxiety has been expressed about the co-opting of Christianity for political purposes. We’ve seen crosses carried at Tommy Robinson rallies and ‘Jesus is Lord’ declared alongside anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric. In much of the handwringing, I’ve perceived a sense of classism. Sentiments expressed by Luton-born Stephen Yaxley Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson, no education section listed on Wikipedia) are received very differently than if they came from Reform adviser, Dr James Orr, a University of Cambridge professor.