Is Tommy Robinson a Christian?

Tommy Robinson has “received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour”, according to the leader of the worship band who performed at his Unite the Kingdom rally earlier this month.   

The suggestion that the founder of the far-right English Defence League is now a Christian will sit uneasily with many believers. But is this the right response? Shouldn’t we be rejoicing over every sinner that repents? 

Has Tommy Robinson really converted?

Rumours first circulated in May 2025, when Tommy Robinson left prison wearing a crucifix. The American apologist David Wood claimed Robinson had “completely converted to Christianity” during his most recent sentence. 

Then, following the increased publicity for Robinson following the Unite the Kingdom Rally, Pastor Rikki Doolan expanded on the claim during an interview on Premier Christian Radio. He described how a chaplain had visited Robinson regularly during his seven-month stint in solitary confinement. Doolan himself had also been to see Robinson, saying that after they had spoken about the Gospel, his friend “received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour.”

Robinson himself does not seem to have spoken publicly about this reported conversion. When asked about his beliefs in a YouTube interview with the conservative commentator Patrick Bet-David in June, he said: “I’m a Christian…As I’ve seen the attacks on Christianity, and I’ve also seen the decay in British society, the fall of Britain from the fall of belief…What built Great Britain? Christianity… If we want to understand and remember who we are, that’s part of our identity. I say to some people, even if you don’t believe in Christianity, you don’t have to believe in Jesus, that’s what’s built us. That’s part of our identity.” 

On its own, this answer hardly suggests Robinson is a Christian in the sense of believing that Jesus Christ died and rose for his sins. Many atheists and agnostics - and commenters across the left-right divide - actually agree with the perspective that Christianity has made a major contribution to British identity. The Leader of the Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, for example, said after describing the loss of her faith: “I want to protect certain things because I think the world that we have in the UK is very much built on Christian values.” 

Nevertheless, there are some other hints that Tommy Robinson has been exploring Christianity. As well as sharing a link to an evangelistic pamphlet on X, he recently tweeted about going to church with Rikki Doolan.  

Responding to Premier’s write up of his interview, Pastor Rikki Doolan criticised any attempt to question Tommy Robinson’s faith, arguing that while God knows his heart, we don’t.  

In one sense, he is right. Just because someone does not recite the Nicene Creed on demand or holds political opinions we disagree with, does not mean they do not understand the Gospel. And ultimately, only God can know what Tommy Robinson really believes.  

God does not just save those we like 

We need to be aware of our own motives in asking whether Tommy Robinson has truly decided to follow Jesus.  

Some, and particularly those who are already his followers, will be inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt. Those of us who reject his politics, on the other hand, are likely to be instinctively sceptical.  

But we need to remember the Gospel is not only for those we like. It is a tenant of our faith that even those we deem truly terrible can be saved. 

This is something the Prophet Jonah failed to remember. Rather than rejoicing when the people of Nineveh repented, he revelled in self-pity, bitter that God could save a nation he despised. 

We forget that “all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God” (Romans 3:23) at our own peril. God’s scandalous grace is available to all of us, without reservation or precondition. Yes, Robinson has been convicted of serious crimes including assault, fraud and stalking. But as the hymn ‘To God be the Glory’ puts it, “the vilest offender who truly believers, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.”

A new Christian leader? 

With 1.7 million followers on X and a growing profile among alt-right audiences across the world, Robinson has a reach that most pastors could only dream of. Almost everyone in Britain knows what Tommy Robinson stands for.   

So unlike most new converts, Tommy Robinson has the capacity to influence millions. Rikki Doolan describes Tommy Robinson as ”somebody who is promoting Christianity, Jesus Christ.” In his interview with Bet-David, Robinson himself says he is working on “a mini documentary” about “the revival going on in Great Britain.”  

Even before his rumoured conversion, his protests took on an increasingly religious character, with hymns, prayers and altar calls. Could he turn his ‘Unite the Kingdom’ movement into a para-church organisation? Many church leaders will be hoping not - in an open letter signed by leaders of multiple denominations including Methodist, Baptist, Evangelical, Salvation Army and Catholic churches, these leaders said they were “deeply concerned about the co-opting of Christian symbols, particularly the cross, during [the] ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally.” 

By all means, we should welcome Tommy Robinson into the pews. But that doesn’t mean we should offer him the pulpit.  

Love your Muslim neighbour? 

We can’t know whether Tommy Robinson truly follows Jesus. But we can ask ourselves whether what he stands for reflects the teachings of Christ. 

And let’s be clear: the Christian belief that Jesus is the only way to God and salvation is through Christ alone does not justify any Christian showing hostility toward those of other religions, including towards Muslims.  

While Robinson claims to differentiate between Islam and those who follow it, in practice he consistently depicts Muslims as a violent fifth column committed to the destruction of Britain. 

In the same interview where he describes himself as a Christian, Tommy Robinson claims that “the drugs, the violence in every town and city is controlled by the Muslim community in the UK now. They are the Mafia.” He goes on to tell the American host: “They’re going to convert your youth. And when they convert your youth in prison or on the streets, they will turn them against America”. 

This is not a reasoned criticism of Islam - it is fearmongering based on lies.  

We need only look to Christ’s most famous saying to see how deeply unchristian some of Robinson’s language is. Jesus chose to illustrate the command to “love your neighbour as yourself” with the example of an act of love performed by someone of a different religion. That is not to say that two religions were alike. Jesus was clear on that point - “salvation is from the Jews [rather than the Samaritans]”. But that does not detract from the truth that people who follow other religions are worthy of our love.  

This is the antithesis of all that Tommy Robinson stands for. If he is truly saved, then it would be right to rejoice in his conversion. But that does not mean we should betray the teachings of Christ by embracing him as a Christian leader.