A Life in Exile

I am an avid reader. The daughter of a librarian mother and scholarly father, books were always a part of my life. As with my taste in music, my reading is all over the place, from classics to spy thrillers, cozy mysteries, biographies, Christian fiction and nonfiction, and everything in between. I do have a penchant for British writers and stories and even went through a couple of years watching offerings on the BritBox streaming service.

Stories as a reflection of real life

I remember watching “Foyle’s War,” which is about a retired detective working as an MI5 agent in the aftermath of WWII. Though I was aware of some of this from the writings of C. S. Lewis, the show revealed the faith struggles many in Britain experienced following the devastation of those years. There was a general “loss of faith” for those who experienced war in ways that the majority of Americans did not, and I could now see that many were speaking into the issue in an effective way to reach the masses.

That was the beginning of a trend I began to pick up in British literature, TV, and film based in that time period and onward—God was irrelevant, the Church was no longer central to British life, and clergymen were simply ridiculous.

This troubled me and contributed to my decision to stop my BritBox subscription. The more series I watched, the more the Church and God were mocked. Rarely did a show or film include a person of true belief in Jesus Christ, though they might show a devout Hindu or Muslim.

I kept reading, though, and continue to love books set in Britain or written by British authors. Several months back, I began reading Richard Osman’s series, The Thursday Murder Club. Loving all things murder and British, it was a great combination and an intriguing storyline with a group of eclectic retirees solving crimes. I could handle most of the barbs toward the Church and Christianity until I read the fourth in the series, The Last Devil to Die. Maybe because it is set during the Christmas season, Osman found more opportunities to include references to religion, but I found it very depressing and disheartening.

That’s when I realized that what he was writing–the attitude toward the Christian faith and Church–was nothing new. Almost all British books and films carried the same attitude of antipathy and disgust toward anything related to Christ and faith. Clergy are routinely used as comic relief in stories or replaced with characters who have no faith at all, though they still wear the collar and cassock.

Setting the stage for change

As I reflected over this trend in British books and media, I found several overarching commonalities:

• They make fun of the Church.
• Doubt about the validity of faith in Christ is made commonplace.
• They give no account to the gospel and the important value of faith and the Church to society.

So, what happens when everything you read and watch over a minimum of the last eight decades constantly degrades the need for faith and fellowship in the Church? What happens?

One faith falls as another rises.

The Britain of today is unrecognizable. Churches stand empty, are turned into mosques or shopping venues, and the decline in the number of Christians continues at an alarming rate. A quick look at the World Population Clock website says that “Christianity, once the default identity of the overwhelming majority, dropped below 50 percent of the population in England and Wales for the first time in 2021.” What is even more alarming is that the number of people who claim no religion has grown, over just a twenty-year period, from 14.8% to 37.2% of the population. Couple that with the doubling of those who claim Islam as their religion, and you quickly realize where this is going.

If you dig deeper into the statistics, you realize that those who claim Christianity as their religious affiliation are on average, over the age of 50, while those who claim no religion or Islam reflect a much younger demographic, with Muslims having the highest proportion of children. This tells us that the doubt and rejection of the Christian faith, post WWII, has led to at least two generations of British nationals detaching from faith altogether.

But faith is important for a nation

The question becomes: Which will they choose? Growing movements in the UK indicate that Muslims are taking center stage as leaders in the nation. When the King chooses to redefine his role as Defender of the Faith to emphasize his duty to protect “the space for faith within the multi-faith nation,” something changes. The King has long been known to level the playing field between all religions, and as a result, there is no one moral compass for the nation.

Without a strong Christian population, Islam has been allowed to take center stage as the true faith. I have read not a single book that mocks a Muslim cleric or denigrates Muslims for their beliefs. As a result, Islam has risen in the public conscience as a serious, believable faith. It is to be respected and held in high regard. Muslims are given space in public spheres to pray, hold religious feasts, and teach the tenets of their faith in schools. Their sharia courts are allowed in Britain because following British law is not enough for Muslims. Their law is a higher law that should be given status and leeway, even in a country that has no foundation in Islamic legislature.

This opening of British society to Islam naturally leads to Muslims taking roles of high office in courts, as mayors, on local councils, and in parliament. All of this changes the dynamics of a nation and the future of the society at large.

Why do I write this rambling post about this confluence of books and society? Because America is not far behind. What we write is a reflection on what we believe. I’m thankful that we are not yet at this stage in my country. I’m grateful for strong Christian writers who write fiction and nonfiction on the importance of faith in Christ and fellowship in the Church. Are we perfect in this effort? No, but we are still here, still writing, still showing up to the mission of proclaiming Christ in our work. I’m thankful that Christian filmmakers and artists are working to provide quality programming that is hopeful and points to our need for Jesus. We have our share of horrible, mocking literature. We have our share of TV shows and films that make fun of Christians and pastors and faith, but we also have powerful writers and producers who push back against the narrative of doubt and destruction.

What we read and watch impacts our individual faith, and it will impact our national faith as well. Voids must be filled with something. Be careful that it is with the powerful, positive, life-giving message of Jesus Christ.

Grace and Peace

If you missed the last Wednesday Wisdom, click HERE, or check out these posts on faith and society: The Nations, Learning from the Past: Forty-Six, An Upright Versus a Wicked Population, Flabby Faith, By Faith, and Binge Remorse.