The Death of Queen Elizabeth II and the Ghost of Christian Nationalism

Photo by Mathew Browne on Unsplash

The Queen is Dead, But the Monarchy Lives!

The recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II (QE2) was a time of grief and reflection.

Grief at the death of Britain’s longest-serving monarch who was very popular among her own people. But also a time of reflection on the monarchy as an institution, one that was historically responsible for the exploitive behaviour of the British Empire, which exported tyranny and plundering all over the world.

Furthermore, given the prominent place of the Church of England (COE) in the funeral and celebration of QE2’s life, there are genuine, even uncomfortable questions to be asked about the relationship of the COE to the British Empire.

For instance, one Aussie Baptist pastor said on Facebook:

I am totally appalled by the church’s complicity with the state — the way church leaders use Christian language, images and symbols to celebrate the monarchy, military and empire and consecrate the status, pomp and power, which Jesus was expressly, repeatedly and implacably opposed to.
— Dave Andrews

In Australia, a former British colony, there is a mixture of commemoration and consternation over QE2’s passing. Many remember a great life lived in service of others, the Queen’s humility and honor, her deep affection for her own subjects. But others point out that the British monarchy and its empire were responsible for the massacres and misery of the indigenous people of Australia. Quite riveting are the thoughts of Stan Grant, an indigenous journalist, who shared how he feels “the choking asphyxiating anger at the suffering and injustice my people endure.”

Wrestling with an Uncomfortable Tension

What is more, I’m an Australian Anglican priest, not part of the COE, but an independent progeny of it. How can I warn about the perils of “civil religion” or “Christian nationalism” when my own denomination is a product of the religious paraphernalia of the British Empire?

As a dual British-Australian citizen and Anglican clergyman, I am broadly supportive of the de-establishment of the COE so it is no longer THE church of England. I believe de-establishment is necessary in order to safeguard Christian dissent from official religion, to protect the secularity of government, and to safeguard the political pluralism of an increasingly diverse nation.

I believe too we must acknowledge the injustices of the colonial past and forge a future that brings people together. A future shaped precisely by a Christian heritage that promotes justice, equality, and fairness for everyone.

That said, I believe it is possible for us to live with certain dualities, certain tensions where two apparently paradoxical things can both be true.

Living Between the English Church and the British Empire

On the British empire, it was both dangerously predacious and divinely providential.

The British empire, like all empires, brought violence, oppression, and exploitation wherever it went. If you know anything about the East India Company’s brutality in India, the Opium Wars in China, the British role in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, and genocidal actions in Tasmania, there is much to condemn, many wrongs that still need to be righted. Things that should never be forgotten, perhaps even some statues that should be brought down!

At the same time, it was the British Crown – not the French Republic nor the American Republic – that ended the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. It was the British Crown that ended the practice of suttee, wife immolation, in India. It was Buckingham palace that cut off all formal contact with the government of South Africa for nearly 50 years prior to Nelson Mandela’s release. Mandela, also from African royal lineage, was said to have a close affinity with QE2, and he was warmly welcomed at Buckingham palace on his first international visit.

Note too that in 2007, a statue of Nelson Mandela was erected in Parliament Square, directly opposite the Houses of Parliament. At the unveiling, Mandela said: "We thank the British people once again for their relentless efforts in supporting us during the dark years. When Oliver Tambo and I visited Westminster Abbey and Parliament Square in 1962, we half-joked that we hoped that one day a statue of a black person would be erected here.”

I would also add that in divine providence, British royal weddings and royal funerals, with their distinctive Christian message and symbols, are now the singularly most powerful evangelistic events in the world. I’d be lying if I said I did not like it that way!

It is true that in the Bible, God promises to bring judgment on evil empires, like Assyria, Babylon, Seleucia, and Rome. Yet God can also use certain empires, like Persia, even raise up a king like Cyrus, to fulfil his plans for his people and the world.

But knowing when your empire or your country is malevolent is not always easy to see. Your view can be distorted by your patriotism, by your own proximity to power and privilege, without the perspective that distance can provide. Precisely why we must never allow the church to be reduced to chaplaincy to empire even as we seek a common good within the state, whether that state is democratic or despotic.

The Blurry Line Between Church and State

On church and state, it is possible to be wary of civil religion and Christian nationalism even as the church engages the state in constructive and cooperative ways.

One must be mindful of the seductions of “civil religion,” providing religious legitimation to the state, the collusion of crown and cross, done out of civic duty and not necessarily an expression of personal piety. Also, the temptation of Christian nationalism, whereby God allegedly elects the state and its government, where Christian faith is identified with one ethnic group, and where Christian faith is weaponized in the culture wars.

In my reading of the times, the COE does have a tendency towards civil religion, but very rarely does it venture into – in recent memory – Christian nationalism.

In addition, the separation of church and state does not mean that church and state cannot work together for the greater public good. This happens all the time ranging from church-based charities to chaplains in hospitals, prisons, and the military.

Remember, Christians are meant to offer “petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (1 Tim 2:1-2).

Accordingly, at the passing of QE2, the Anglican Church of Uganda offered up this prayer:

On behalf of the Church of Uganda, we stand with our brothers and sisters in the UK in mourning the passing of your beloved Queen and the Head of our Commonwealth. We take hope in the words of the Bible applied to her life: She fought the good fight. She finished the race. She kept the faith. Now there is in store for her another crown - the crown of righteousness. (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

The Most Rev. Dr. Stephen Kaziimba

Besides just praying for the king in your congregation, what if the king asks you to pray for him at his coronation? What would you pray? How about something like this from the royal liturgy: “Receive this orb set under the cross, and remember that the whole world is subject to the power and empire of Christ our redeemer.” A wise prayer indeed!

The separation of church and state does not entail that church and state do not talk to each other or work together in certain spheres.

Be Wary of a Very British Jesus

It is true for the COE, as it is for all Anglican provinces, that we must acknowledge the manifold injustices of the British imperial past, and together right those wrongs, an unfinished task. We must build something beautiful from the ruins of the British Empire. Further, we must be allergic to casting Jesus into the imagery of the British crown or treating the British crown as servants with a unique and privileged relationship with God.

Accordingly, while Anglicans do not want to be agents of the state, we do not have withdraw our voice from the public square or from parliament. I’ve always regarded the Anabaptist penchant for self-isolation to be an abdication of our responsibility to be public Christians. We must bear witness before governors and pray for kings as the opportunities in divine providence continue to allow us such a privilege.

Otherwise, I strongly recommend the podcast “Empire” by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand, especially the episode with David Olusoga about “Queen Elizabeth II & Empire.” A fair account and worth a listen!