Commentary
Centre court
Agnostics anonymous
When in opposition, move to the centre. It took the Tories a
long time to grasp that rule, and for the first two terms of Labour
government they seemed to assume that the electorate had taken
leave of its senses and would come crying back. Assured of their
entitlement to rule, the Tories were smug and self-satisfied,
unable to understand the breadth and depth of the loathing they
inspired across large swathes of the country.
It's harder to pinpoint the date at which Christianity went into
opposition in Britain. The national religion was never ousted in a
landslide but eroded by the congregants voting with their feet. The
Church of England, once 'the Tory party at prayer', has pursued the
centre, adapting style and doctrinal content to a society
transformed by the sixties' various social revolutions. As we have
come to expect, the outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury consistently
offered a left-wing, liberal critique rather than a narrowly
Christian message. That's what you do in opposition; talk about
what other people are interested in.
And yet for all its forays into politics, Christianity continues
to lose relevance as it loses members; it is in the same position
as a political party no-one will vote for. Its appeal is not helped
by the fact that the smugness and self-satisfaction of individual
Christians seems to increase as their number decreases. The
defeated Tories in 1997 made a few brief verbal gestures of
humility before demanding to be returned to the power they had
abused. Individual Christians are often willing to boast about
their humility, but the reverse side of this is a gloating pride
about being part of the spiritual royalty.
British Christians and Tories seem locked into an unpopularity
contest, a hostile symbiosis. Both brands alienate huge swathes of
the British population. Both seek liberal approval in order to
'detoxify' their brands. And the best way for Tories to appear
liberal is to distance themselves from Christianity, and vice
versa.
That's the context in which to understand David Cameron's
endorsement of gay marriage. The Tories eventually clawed back
power when rebranding allowed them to get past the sensitive
filters of the electorate's nostrils. Once in power, they
immediately reverted to type, and the electorate is nauseated
again. Cameron's answer is to court unpopularity with
traditionalists. 'I hope we won't fall out too much over gay
marriage', Cameron told church leaders.
But it's obvious that conservative Christians will push back,
and every bit of resistance will bolster Cameron's standing with
the voters he believes hold the electoral balance. You define
yourself in opposition, and the Christians are David Cameron's
stooge now.