Former Archbishop accuses Farage of using Christianity against Muslims

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has accused Reform UK leader Nigel Farage of using Christianity as a tool to "channel anti-Muslim feeling." In an interview with New Humanist magazine, Williams expressed concern that political figures are misusing Christian identity amid debates over immigration and national identity.

Williams served as Archbishop from 2002 to 2012. He stated he suspects Farage and others want to channel anti-Muslim feeling, adding that the claim "we're a Christian society" provides rhetorical "ballast." The intervention follows Farage's criticism of a public Iftar event in Trafalgar Square earlier in 2026, which Farage described as an attempt to "overtake, intimidate and dominate our way of life." Farage has also pointed to young people who "loathe much of what we stand for," a comment sources indicate referred to Muslims.

Williams linked the rise of what he termed "Christian nationalism" in Britain to "anxiety about migration" and "anti-Islamism." He noted a global trend where nationalist movements inject theology into their messaging, suggesting Farage uses it partly as a "presentational strategy" for international appeal. This comes as Reform...