Church of England warns against fake outrage that ‘Christmas is cancelled’ ahead of Tommy Robinson carols rally
A senior Church of England bishop has hit out at false claims that “Christmas has been cancelled” and criticized those trying to politicize Christianity ahead of a caroling event organized by anti-immigrant activist Tommy Robinson.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, called on supporters of the UK movement to “put Jesus back into Christmas” at an open house in Whitehall this Saturday.
In a significant intervention, the Right Rev. David Walker, Bishop of Manchester, said it was “offensive” that people were “appropriating this great Christian festival of light, triumphing over darkness, as support for an obscure culture war”.
writing for IndependentDr Walker said: “Every year we encounter a rather strange tradition: the familiar allegations that someone somewhere is trying to ‘ban’ Christmas.”
He warned that populists were willing to scour the internet in search of “something, anything, to show that Christmas is supposedly being taken away”.
He continued: “Although they focus on something different each time, at its core it is often the same story: that an outside ‘other’ wants to erase the traditional idea of Christmas. Sometimes it is said to be the vague but somehow ubiquitous ‘woke’ elite, sometimes minorities, and often people of other faiths.”
“The people behind these stories do so not to share Christmas’ message of joy and love, but to spread division.”
He hailed Christmas as “that one time in the year when, even in our more secular society, the powerful message of love is heard that God comes and lives among us as one of us.”
This holiday season, Dr Walker, bishop of Manchester since 2013, urged believers and non-believers to “look towards the angels who proclaim peace on Earth and goodwill to all, rather than scrolling down to the comments”.
The intervention took place ahead of a Christmas carol event organized by far-right activist Robinson in London.
In preparation for Saturday’s event, Robinson had been posting on X (Twitter) claims that Christmas had been “cancelled” in Paris or that Muslims in Manchester had “disrespected” a Christmas market.
The anti-immigrant campaigner planned a follow-up event to the UK march, where more than 100,000 people took part in what was billed as a “free speech” protest and included Elon Musk telling the crowd “violence is coming to you” and “you either fight back or you die”.
Robinson, who has spoken more about Christianity since being released from prison in May this year, promised to speak and play music at the Whitehall event on Saturday. In a recent video posted on
He promised that Saturday’s event “will not be a political protest.”
Don’t write IndependentDr Walker said: “It is a precious time of year. And in the times we live in, his simple but powerful message spoken by angels – peace on Earth, goodwill to all – could not seem more urgent.
“But every year we encounter a rather strange tradition: familiar claims that someone somewhere is trying to ‘ban’ Christmas.”
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Addressing stories about Christmas being “taken away,” Trump said: “For all the talk of defending the Christian essence of Christmas, they are doing the exact opposite: They are reducing the magnificence and mystery of the birth of Jesus, of God coming to live among us, to silly stories about the labeling of consumer products.”
His intervention came as the Church of England posted a video on its social media account on Friday countering claims that Christmas was under threat.
“Every year we hear stories about Christmas being canceled in some way or the joy of Christmas being threatened in some way,” the video said.
“This is news to us because in every church, in every neighborhood, in every Cathedral in every corner of our country you will find a story of hope and love.”
The post added: “It’s Christmas. It belongs to all of us and everyone is invited.”
Meanwhile, the bishop of Southwark, the bishop of Croydon, the bishop of Kingston and the bishop of Woolwich issued a joint statement condemning “any appropriation or corruption of the Christian faith to the exclusion of others”.
They said: “We are seriously concerned about the use of Christian symbols and rhetoric to openly legitimize racism and anti-immigrant rhetoric.”
The bishops spoke directly to Robinson’s supporters, saying: “We encourage them to rethink, to consider what kind of world they want to be part of, and to choose compassion and understanding over hostility and conflict.”
Robinson has also received some support from Christians outside the Church of England, with Ceirion Dewar listed as a Bishop in the Confessing Anglican Church in the trailer for the event.
Chris Wickland, a pastor from the Living Word Church Network, and musician Rikki Doolan, who wrote a “theme song” for the Unite the Kingdom rally, also appear in the promotional material.
The Reverend Arun Arora, bishop of Kirstall and co-chair of the Church of England on racial justice, said: Independent Last weekend it was announced that the Church has a duty “to oppose and resist the takeover of the Christian language and symbols by populist forces.”
Speaking of Robinson’s recent activism, Bishop Arun said: “I am glad that Stephen Yaxley-Lennon has recently come to faith in prison. Having experienced the vast mercy of God’s grace, Stephen no longer has the right to deny this to others.”
“Having embraced and accepted God’s welcome, he can no longer limit it to others who may be equally lost. Nor does he have the right to subvert his faith to serve his own purposes rather than the other way around.”
