There has been discussion on this and other outlets about persecution of Christians in the UK. There is a variety of opinion in the church: some such as Andrea Williams of Christian Concern argue that persecution already exists, others such as Simon Calvert of the Christian Institute say Christians are challenged but not persecuted. Still others including Rowan Williams think Christians should ‘grow up’ and stop talking of persecution.
As well as perceptions of persecution being inevitably subjective, persecution itself is extremely difficult to define. The Cambridge Dictionary is typical when it defines persecution as ‘unfair or cruel treatment over a long period of time because of race, religion or political beliefs’. This is so vague that it does little to clarify matters.
My understanding of persecution – and yours may differ – is that it comes in four stages: Derision, Harassment, Exclusion and Direct Attack.
Derision
Humour is useful psychologically and most of us enjoy and have made jokes about Christians or particular churches or denominations, especially our own. No human being, or collection of people, should be considered beyond humour.
Name-calling and misrepresentation lay the groundwork for greater discrimination against Christians.
Anyone acquainted with social media quickly becomes aware that humour easily slides into sneering and bullying. That the church is a legitimate object of mockery can easily create a general groundswell of opinion which disparages and scorns Christianity and produces a sense of permission to abuse it.
This gives rise to an unpleasant atmosphere of antipathy towards Christians which in turn feeds on a remarkable level of ignorance and prejudice from within a culture which until recently acknowledged it was built on Christian principles. Name-calling and misrepresentation lay the groundwork for greater discrimination against Christians.
Harassment
In the UK we have legal protections and are able to share our faith. While we are free to hold biblical views, that does not mean that we are exempt from any legislation a democratic society wishes to enact. We can hold unpopular views: believe and say that homosexual activity is a sin, or that Jesus Christ is the only way back to God. Others may be offended by these beliefs but at present there is no law against upsetting people.
While we are free to hold biblical views, that does not mean that we are exempt from any legislation a democratic society wishes to enact.
Yet street preachers are arrested, bakers and B&B owners made the subject of targeted attacks, nurses disciplined for praying with patients, council workers sacked for refusing to marry homosexual couples, employees forced to cover up their cross necklaces, etc. Instances of Christians facing mistreatment for standing up for the faith are increasingly common and have come to be expected. That these attempts to silence Christians are usually reversed when they come to court does not diminish their effect on the victims and the creation of a climate of defensive self-censorship amongst believers.
Exclusion
There is no legislation which says that Christians as a group are barred from certain professions or trades as there was concerning Jews in Nazi Germany. However, with the increasing marginalisation of Christianity we can find ourselves effectively excluded from our chosen work. Several highly visible cases show that Christians can be removed from work and posts.
Richard Paige was sacked as a magistrate after objecting to the adoption of a child by a same-sex couple. Paige appealed against his sacking, saying that he had been voicing his sincerely held Christian beliefs. A judge ruled Paige was rightly sacked as his beliefs made him ‘incapable of honouring his undertaking’ as a magistrate to act free from bias. An individual judge could not superimpose his own beliefs on the law but had to make his judgements on the law as it stood.
Several highly visible cases show that Christians can be removed from work and posts.
In a similar case Lillian Ladele, a registrar for the London Borough of Islington, was disciplined for refusing to officiate at civil partnerships when they were legalised in 2005. She took the council to court, claiming discrimination on the grounds of her religious beliefs. Both the Court of Appeal and the European Court of Human Rights concluded that Islington had acted fairly as Ladele’s personal beliefs did not override society’s laws.
As there is no general protection in law for ‘conscientious objectors’ we can expect that Bible-believing Christians will increasingly find themselves having to make difficult choices as to their employment, and as society continues to change we can expect Christians to be excluded from more professions.
Direct Attack
Here in the UK we have freedoms and legal protections which Christians in most of the world and for most of history could only have imagined in their wildest dreams. This hasn’t stopped overt instances of the persecution of Christians from occurring in the UK. In general, the fourth and final stage of persecution is what we more commonly witness happening throughout the world.
Either spontaneously or by legislation, vicious and systematic persecution of Christians happens and is increasing. In Pakistan supposed blasphemy carries the death penalty. The notorious blasphemy laws are not specifically directed at Christians but are a handy and oft-used tool to be used by disgruntled fellow workers, rejected suitors, jealous neighbours and others to utterly devastate the lives of any Christians who annoy them.
This hasn’t stopped overt instances of the persecution of Christians from occurring in the UK.
Since the outbreak of the Boko Haram Muslim insurgency, more than 50,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria, where nearly 50 per cent of the population identify as Christian. During 2022, a shocking 5,068 Nigerians were massacred for being Christians. The first 100 days of 2023 have seen 1,041 slaughtered in jihadi attacks. These attacks we can unequivocally term persecution.
According to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom’s 2020 report, Christians in countries as geographically and religiously diverse as Burma, China, Eritrea, India, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi are regularly subject to violent persecution.
Where we decide persecution begins will depend on our personal outlook and experience. What is more important is how we react to the inevitable antagonism of the world (John 15:20). Our best reaction is to follow Christ’s example (1 Pet 2:23) and trust ourselves to the one who judges justly.
The Rev. Dr Campbell Campbell-Jack is a retired Church of Scotland minister; now a member of the Free Church of Scotland. Check out his many incisive articles on his blog, A Grain of Sand.
