‘Christian’ Extremism Needs Policy Solutions, Not A Theological Debate

There is something going wrong in parts of the Christian community today that carries real significance for Britain’s future. As the Radical Right has stepped up its political advance, it has looked across to the networks, social capital, budgets, symbols and cultural leverage of religion and decided to accelerate the manufacture of its own mediatised, thinned out and disembodied versions of Christianity. Figures such as Tommy Robinson have even claimed conversion experiences while in prison, announcing that they are heading to church. This appropriation of Christian assets, identity and reach is not incidental. It is part of a deliberate strategy to capture religious institutions, budgets and people by cloaking radical politics in the language of faith, to mobilise communities under banners of “revival” and “truth seeking” while in reality connecting to global networks of funding and influence.

The rallies that emerge from this movement are not, as some have claimed, simply prayer meetings. They are gatherings where Christianity is re-cast as a proxy for whiteness, where contempt for Islam and loathing of inclusive communities are woven into the liturgy of political anger. Police officers, refugees, Jewish and Asian schoolchildren, and other minorities are increasingly framed as targets of hostility. The Radical Right is not isolated or local. It is hyper-connected globally, drawing seed funding and cover from sympathetic governments and wealthy donors abroad. Its ecosystem includes front organisations, sub-charities, unwitting existing Christian movements who have given it ‘gateway’ status and networks that blur the lines between legitimate ministry and extremist mobilisation. Mapping these connections is complex, but the risk is clear: religion is being captured, instrumentalised.

Faced with this challenge, some Christian leaders have instinctively turned to ‘theology’, while a few  ‘Christian’ commercial consultancies and institutes with no history in these matters have suddenly (re)invented themselves as ‘experts’ or ‘convenors’ in the space. They argue that “moderate theology” can counter “extreme theology,” just as earlier governments once sought “moderate Muslims” to resist radical Islam. But history shows this approach is inadequate. Theologians and ‘common sense believers’ often lack grounding in political science, social policy or the empirical study of extremism and its proponents strategies. Their debates may be rich in spiritual insight but are narrow in practical application. In South Africa, Peru, Ireland and Britain’s own wider colonial history, governments funded “moderate theology” to counter dissidence. The result was often counter-productive: it deepened support for opponents rather than reducing violence. Ideas alone cannot dismantle extremist networks. Civic risk arises not from thoughts but from actions, from failures in safeguarding, gaps in youth work and weaknesses in accountability. Extremism thrives where systems are weak, procedures are absent and communities feel excluded.

If Christian leaders are serious about resisting the Radical Right, they must shift focus from theology to policy. That means investing in youth engagement programmes that give young people a stake in their communities, strengthening local initiatives that build trust across diverse groups, ensuring churches and faith based organisations meet the highest standards of child protection and governance, and working with police, local authorities and civil society partners to share intelligence, coordinate responses and build resilience. These are not abstract ideas. They are practical steps that can be measured, funded and implemented. They require humility from church leaders, who must recognise that sermons and short term consultancy projects alone will not protect communities from radicalisation.

Here is where British Muslims have vital wisdom to share. For decades, Muslim communities have been at the sharp end of government counter-extremism policy. They have navigated Prevent referrals, Channel programmes, and the stigma of being treated as suspect communities. They have built youth organisations, safeguarding systems and advocacy networks to resist radicalisation and protect civic peace. Muslim leaders know the limits of theological responses. They have seen how government attempts to engineer “moderate Islam” failed to address the social drivers of extremism. They understand that policy, procedure and community engagement matter more than abstract debates and round table seminars. Yet Christian leaders have been slow to seek this help. Some still blame Muslims for the rise of the Far Right, pointing abroad to Gaza or other conflicts rather than examining their own vulnerabilities. Others retreat into internal theological debates, avoiding the hard graft of systems and accountability. This is a missed opportunity. British Muslims bring professional skills, community wisdom and lived experience that could help Christian leaders strengthen their response. Partnership across religious communities is not just desirable, it is essential.

The Radical Right is not waiting. Its networks are expanding, its rallies growing, its message spreading. Already, more right-wing extremists are being referred to Prevent than Islamic radicals, with 65 percent of those referrals involving white individuals. More than half of those passed to the Channel programme are white. Meanwhile, parts of the churches remain non-compliant with safeguarding commitments. The Catholic Bishops promised a joined-up policy on abuse five years ago but have not yet fully delivered. The Church of England continues to struggle with safeguarding policy and governance gaps symbolised by high profile resignations and subsequent concerns. Beyond the main denominations, scandals over missing funds and blurred boundaries between personal and charitable resources often persist. These weaknesses create the conditions – openings to an enhanced eco system – for extremists to capture resources, discourses and young lives. Without robust systems, Christian institutions risk becoming unwitting platforms for radicalisation and resourcing churches for social harm.

Defeating extremism requires a shared civic strategy. That means acknowledging the threat, rejecting theological quick fixes or any claim to theology’s primacy over the need to address harm, investing in systems, learning across every part of Islam and across especially the weakest institutions in Christianity. It means engaging government to treat Christian extremism with the same seriousness as other forms but then not lock that conversation in the advocacy of confected ‘new’ groups. This is not about stigmatising Christians or Muslims. It is about recognising that extremism is a civic risk, not a theological debate. It is about building resilience through policy, procedure and partnership. With a new Archbishop of Canterbury due to be installed, and a new Head of the Catholic church in England on the verge of being announced, it is also a moment where change in leadership could bring fresh energy.

The Radical Right’s “Christianisation” of its message opens new vistas of risk. It demands that Christian leaders move beyond sermons and embrace the hard work of civic renewal. It requires humility, the willingness to learn from Muslim communities who have faced similar challenges. If British Christians can partner with British Muslims, drawing on their professional skills and community wisdom, the value added could be astounding. Together, they can build systems that protect young people, strengthen neighbourhoods and safeguard civic peace. Extremism cannot be defeated by theology alone. It must be resisted through policy, procedure and partnership. The time for humility and collaboration is now.

This blog  develops my earlier paper ‘Architecture of the British Christian Right: A case Study in Political Capture‘ from the University of Southampton Centre on English Identity and Politics. (Linked)

Francis Davis is an Equi Fellow, a Visiting Fellow at Kellogg College, University of Oxford and Honorary Professor at Queen Mary, University of London. He is a former member of the Portsmouth Anglican Diocese Council for Social Responsibility and a current governor of the Chaldean Catholic University of Erbil in Iraq. In 2025 the UK Muslim Community Association gave him a national award for educational empowerment of Muslims by a non-Muslim.

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