Such has been the decline in the practice of Christianity in our country over recent decades that we tend to forget that we are just that – a Christian country. It is a subject worth exploring at a time when, despite the Prime Minister’s recent speech in which he told us we should not be ashamed of saying that we are a Christian country, there are increasing threats to that identity.

It is important to understand what makes us a Christian country. We are not a Christian country because a majority of the people believe in Christ or attend church regularly or identify themselves as ‘Christian’ in their census returns: these are not the key things. One could conceivably have a country in which any or all of these things were true and yet it not be a Christian country.

The thing which makes a country a Christian one is its constitution. By that we mean the laws and principles which define the state. As a result of the Reformation the United Kingdom (and prior to it its constituent parts) has a constitution in which Protestant Christianity enjoys a privileged place.

Despite changes in the wrong direction over the last two centuries the essential features of this arrangement remain. There are three important planks to our country’s Christian constitution.

1. The Act of Settlement. Following the Glorious Revolution of 1689 which brought the Protestant William and Mary to the English throne the Bill of Rights was passed by the English Parliament in 1689, limiting the powers of the Crown and securing democratic liberties but also barring Roman Catholics from the throne. The reason it gave was: “it hath been found by experience that it is inconsistent with the safety and welfare of this Protestant kingdom to be governed by a Popish prince or by any King or Queen marrying a Papist.”

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In 1701 the Act of Settlement was passed to secure for all time the Protestant succession to the English throne (its provisions were extended to Scotland by the Union of 1707). It restates the key points of the Bill of Rights but also requires the Sovereign to “join in Communion with the Church of England as by Law established”. The Act of Settlement and the establishment of the Church of England go together for since the Act of Supremacy of 1534 the monarch has served as ‘Supreme Governor’ of the Church of England, a role which a Roman Catholic obviously could not fulfil.

2. The Coronation Oath. Under our constitution the monarch is required to take an oath when crowned. The Coronation Oath administered to Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey involving both the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland included the following questions:

1. Will you to the utmost of your power maintain the Laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel?
   

2. Will you to the utmost of your power maintain in the United Kingdom the Protestant Reformed Religion established by law?
   

Before signing the Oath the Queen kneeled and placed her right hand on a copy of the Bible saying: “The things which I have here before promised, I will perform and keep. So help me God.”

The Coronation Oath is of great significance. The holder of the highest civil position in our land is required by law to make solemn promises to uphold the Protestant Christian faith. It sets the tone for the whole nation. In the light of this the actions of our government when it legislates in a way which is hostile to the Christian faith can only be described as perverse: how can our politicians berate Bible-believing Christians when all that Christians are doing is standing up for the religion and the beliefs that our Sovereign has publicly subscribed to, as she must?!

3. The Oath of Allegiance. Many who hold important positions in society, among them parliamentarians, judges, magistrates, police officers and members of the armed forces, although no longer obliged to swear in a religious manner, are nevertheless required to take an Oath of Allegiance to the Sovereign when they take office. Members of both Houses of Parliament for instance, when they take their seats generally hold a copy of the New Testament in their hand and say: “I... swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, her heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God.” Even those who wish to become British citizens must do something similar.

It follows logically that such people are also pledging their allegiance to the Sovereign’s religion – or at least indicating that they will not actively oppose it. The Lord alone knows what is in men’s hearts but we can only be thankful for these provisions and the religious and civil liberties which come with them. Pray that every attempt by God’s foes to undo our Christian constitution will come to nothing.

“Do not forget the voice of those

    that are thine enemies:

Of those the tumult ever grows

    that do against thee rise.”