Christianity once stood as the bedrock of British culture, it shaped the nation’s laws and served as the central hub of community life.Today, however, the nation scarcely resembles the great Christian stronghold it once was. Our national calendar still revolves around Christian festivals, yet the meaning behind them has faded. Every town in England, whether small or large, is home to a local parish, yet despite their capacity to hold many, these churches often remain largely empty.

During the Middle Ages in Britain, English missionaries, driven by religious duty and a commitment to spreading Christianity, travelled to Africa, Asia and the Americas. They established churches, schools and hospitals with a strong Christian ethos in the regions they colonised. However, we must recognise that this missionary work was intertwined with colonial objectives, leading to the suppression of native peoples. Additionally, the spread of Christianity often introduced European cultural norms, altering various aspects of life and establishing new practices, such as the worship of the Christian God.

Although God transcends any particular cultural form or practice, human limitations and the pursuit of power and control have, at times, distorted Christianity in ways that stray from the authentic worship depicted and seen in the Bible. Such deviations have profoundly shaped how Christianity is expressed and practised across various cultures today. I must emphasise that God never intended Christianity to be a “white man’s religion” or an oppressive institution, despite how colonial influences may have shaped such perceptions. As with all aspects of life, we must continually examine and question the practices around us, including spiritual customs that may have become ingrained without careful consideration. 

Admittedly, Christian missionaries have used their work to establish control and authority over people in the name of religion, tarnishing Christianity with the brutality they enforced, such as forced slavery and the suppression of cultural expression. These profound moral failures, driven by human frailty and greed, are far from what Jesus intended by the command to ‘go and make disciples of all nations.’ In the end, they will be judged and avenged by God. Consequently, our worship of Him should embody the profound power inherent in His nature.

After all, the mighty king David shows us exactly how we can be free and liberated to worship God joyfully. David tells us in the Psalms that we can, “Praise his name with dancing” (Psalm 149:3) and that you can, “Clap your hands! Shout to God with joyful praise!” (2 Samuel 6:4) We see that when King David went to worship, he “danced before the Lord with all his might, wearing a priestly garment.”(Psalm 47:1) Despite the weight of those priestly garments at the time, they certainly didn’t stop him from giving his all to God. This expression is characteristic of certain cultural traditions, yet with the establishment of European cultural norms within Christianity, the vibrant form of worship as seen in the Bible has perhaps diminished.

It seems to me that as nations gained independence from their colonisers, they had the chance to explore God and the Holy Scriptures on their own terms, free from colonial oppression—though some were already seeking this understanding while still under colonial rule. A poignant example is Sojourner Truth, the African-American abolitionist and activist. Born into slavery, Truth discovered through God’s word that no ethnicity is superior to another, famously asking, “Does not God love coloured children as well as white children?”. Despite the distorted version of the gospel presented by white British men, she remained steadfast in the truth she found in the scriptures, which became her driving force in the fight for civil rights.

Where Christianity has dwindled in European and Western societies, I believe a powerful rediscovery has taken root among former colonies in Africa, Latin America and Asia. This revival has upheld the faith and biblical principles, even as the essence of Christianity fades in other parts of the world. I believe that this profound spiritual awakening has led to the growth of churches in these regions in a way reminiscent of the early Pentecostal movement described in the Bible.

Finally, I believe that to preserve the Christian faith, we can learn from nations that have revitalised and maintained the faith so effectively that some pastors now preach to thousands on Sunday mornings. Timothy Keller, in The Reason for God, notes that Christianity has always embraced diverse cultures, growing across various contexts. He also highlights that, “every human culture has (from God) distinct goods and strengths for the enrichment of the human race.” Next week, I will delve into the concept of a global gospel—a gospel that is both accessible and inclusive of all nationalities.

References: 

Keller, T., 2008. The reason for God: belief in an age of skepticism. New York: Dutton.