Is Theresa May really Christian?
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Politics and religion are those two subjects you just don’t bring up at dinner parties or when you’re drunk. Thankfully, this occasion involves neither, so we’re going to discuss Prime Minister Theresa May and whether or not she is really Christian in her politics.
Before we begin, let’s take a look at what Theresa May, who is a Church of England vicar’s daughter, has said about religion in the past.
- “It’s [religion] part of me. It is part of who I am and therefore how I approach things.” – May on Desert Island Discs in 2014
- “Let us take pride in our Christian heritage” – May in her 2017 Christmas message
- “I am a practising member of the Church of England and so forth, that lies behind what I do” as well as her faith in God making her convinced she is “doing the right thing” – May in a 2016 interview with The Sunday Times
It is clear from just three bullet points above that Theresa May is influenced heavily by her Christian faith when making her decisions in politics and when running the country. Interestingly, though, May also says she does not think it appropriate to “flaunt” your religion in politics.
Let’s see how much Theresa May is really Christian when compared to the teachings of Christianity’s most central figure: Jesus Christ.
- Section 28 and gay rights
Section 28 was introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s discriminatory Conservative government and stated that councils should not “intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality” in their schools or other areas in which they are involved.
Theresa May was one of the Members of Parliament who voted in favour of Section 28, showing that she was clearly opposed to the nonsense notion of ‘spreading’ homosexuality to children as if it’s some kind of disease. Newsflash, Mrs May: it’s not.
May also voted against the 2002 motion to allow gay couples to adopt children. She did not attend to vote on a Gender Recognition Bill, which would allow a marriage to still be legal if one partner underwent gender reassignment treatment. May also voted in favour of forcing a clinic to consider the need for a “father and mother” before allowing women to have IVF, threatening lesbian rights in particular in 2008.
How Christian is this? Well, in all honesty, it depends. In terms of the Old Testament, it’s probably accurate: Leviticus’ “you should not lie with a man as you would with a woman” and the whole concept of Adam and Eve show May is following the Old Testament well. Apart from the rule that you should not wear clothes with mixed fibres. I suppose she missed that teaching.
In terms of New Testament and Jesus (which the Church of England views as a higher source of authority), she’s not doing so well. Jesus said, “blessed are the poor” and those on the outskirts of society, AKA the marginalised, AKA minorities. He quite literally went out of his way to help them and said the Kingdom of God is all theirs.
Oops.
- Food bank usage peaks at an all-time high
In April this year, the use of food banks in the UK reached the highest rate on record. This statistic is pretty harrowing, to be honest, and there’s been absolutely no response from the government on what they’re going to do about it.
Instead, Theresa May is quite happy to stand beside her Universal Credit benefit system which has seen the income of the neediest in society reduce to the point where meeting a basic standard of living is sometimes impossible.
How Christian is this? Well, by any standards, not very.
It shows a level of corruption when the richest 1% in the UK have seen their share of money increase to almost a quarter of the whole country’s wealth in 2017 while food banks are more in demand than ever. It’s a level of corruption that would’ve caused Old Testament God to burn the whole of the UK apart from probably Jeremy Corbyn to start a new society up in the Outer Hebrides or something.
In terms of good old Christ, May is doing even worse on that front. He did say that it’s easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than a rich man gets into heaven, which by any standards advocates for a better distribution of wealth than what we have now. In fact, Jesus would probably rock up to HSBC and whip all the bankers at this rate.
- Faith schools
One religiously justified thing Mrs May has done, however, is increase the funding for faith schools, most of which teach the religion she’s epically failing to follow.
How convenient is it that the teaching she decides to follow is “go and make disciples of all nations”, and not the Golden Rule of treating others as you wish to be treated?
Sorry, Mrs May, but your Christianity might need some checking and balancing. Maybe helping the poor out could solve that. Just a thought…