Ahead of the election of 4 July, a survey conducted by the Evangelical Alliance United Kingdom found that 93% of evangelicals would like to see more Christians engaged in politics.
The Westminster parliament building, in England. / Photo: [link]Heidi Fin[/link], Unsplash, CC0.
In the United Kingdom, one of the evangelical organisations that has published resources and interesting data ahead of the general election of 4 July is the Evangelical Alliance United Kingdom (EAUK), a supra-denominational entity seeking to unite evangelical churches in the filed of mission and social engagement.
In the Thinking Faithfully About Politics 2024 report, the EAUK says that “there is great diversity in how evangelicals engage in politics. There is no monolithic evangelical vote; their spread of support for different parties is not dissimilar to that of the general public”.
This said, the figures of a survey among 1,600 evangelical Christians in the UK found that 42% of the respondents planned to vote for Labour (currently in the opposition but the expected winner according to all polls), while 29% would vote for the Conservative Party of prime minister Rishi Sunak, and 6% for the Liberal Democratic Party. Smaller parties like the Greens and Reform UK would get the support of around 5% of evangelicals each.
[photo_footer] Preferred choice of evangelical Christians surveyed by the EAUK vs. general population. / EAUK. [/photo_footer]
Also according to the survey, 37% of evangelical Christians would prefer Keir Starmer (Labour) as prime minister, and 24% Rishi Sunak (Conservatives).
What is important to evangelical voters in the UK? The report says: “The Christians we surveyed would be more likely to vote for parties that protected free speech in the workplace, opposed assisted suicide, reduced the time limit for abortion, supported safe and legal routes for asylum, backed religious freedom in trade deals and increased the minimum wage”.
Asked about the top three factors that determine their vote, the respondents said they would vote for a party that “will best help others who are most in need” (58%), “a party that is most aligned with Christian/Biblical values” (54%) and “the party I think will best manage the economy” (48%).
[photo_footer] Priorities of evangelical Christians in the UK as they plan to vote for a certain party. / EAUK. [/photo_footer]
Committed Christians, just as the majority of other citizens, express a “deep distrust and hesitation about contemporary politics in the UK”.
And yet, despite this hesitation, “93% want to see more Christians engaged in politics and standing for election. While not always hopeful about the future of the country, evangelicals have hope as to what can be achieved through politics”.
The report found that “evangelicals care about values, as well as policy. Evangelicals see the integrity of political leaders, upholding Christian values and creating unity as some of the most important issues facing our nation. There has been a shift since 2014, when the focus of evangelicals was policy issues and not values”.
Nine in ten (87%) agreed with the sentence: “Christianity has deeply shaped the UK’s political culture and democratic process”. And 77% of respondents agreed that “there are some issues where it is right for Christians to resist or disobey the law”.
Beyond voting, respondents said they engage in other socio-political issues such as creating or signing a petition (72%), contacting an elected representative (56%) or boycotting certain products for political, ethical or environmental reasons (43%). 17% said they actively participated in a campaign and a 11% donated money or paid a membership fee to a political party (11%).
Let's engage faithfully with the upcoming election.
Watch and share pic.twitter.com/dRuzfD0RT5
— Evangelical Alliance (@EAUKnews) May 23, 2024
The evangelical body also shared prayer points among the churches in the UK.
“Prayer reminds us that our ultimate allegiance is to Jesus our king, and that our ultimate hope within and beyond this election is to see His kingdom come ‘on earth as it is in heaven’ (Matthew 6:10)”, the EAUK says.
[photo_footer] The document of the EAUK with prayer points, June 2024. [/photo_footer] Some requests are: “Pray against cynicism and despair keeping people (and especially Christians) from voting. Ask that our light would shine in dark places”; “Ask that we might know grace to treasure the ultimate authority of Heaven even while contending for good governance and accountable authority on earth”; “Election season is very demanding for those in politics in general. Pray that, amidst the pressures and uncertainties of this time, the Lord would encounter them with His truth, His person and His peace”; “Ask for wisdom for the new government in the tricky decisions that lie ahead. Pray that they would be able to hold on to what is good and actively pursue and actualise change where this is necessary”.
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