Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has accused Reform UK leader Nigel Farage of invoking Britain’s Christian identity to channel anti-Muslim sentiment.

Williams, who served as the Church of England’s senior bishop for a decade until 2012, made the comments in an interview with New Humanist magazine published this week.

“I suspect really that Farage and others want to channel anti-Muslim feeling, and it helps to have ‘we’re a Christian society’ to fling back,” Williams said, arguing that such rhetoric provides political support for their position.

His comments come amid renewed debate over Britain’s Christian identity and immigration. At Easter, Farage shared a post stating that “the Christian values on which our country is built are something to be proud of.”

Farage has previously faced criticism over comments about Muslims and British values. In 2024, he said there was a growing number of young people in Britain who did not subscribe to British values and, when asked, confirmed that he was referring to Muslims.

Williams also acknowledged growing public scepticism toward some claims of religious conviction, saying there is an “inevitable scepticism these days” about such assertions.