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During recent Reform UK press conferences, two very distinctive heads can often be seen in the forefront: the pale hair of party policy chief Danny Kruger and the styled blond hair of senior adviser James Orr.

Beyond shaping the policy programme for what could be the UK’s next government, the pair have something else in common. Each is a highly devout Christian who came to religion in adulthood, and hold strong opinions on matters of society such as abortion and the family.

Connections and Convictions

Kruger, an MP, who defected from the Conservatives, and Orr, a university scholar, are members of the steering committee of a rightwing thinktank known as the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.

Another member is the financier Paul Marshall, the investment tycoon who owns GB News and the conservative Spectator magazine. Marshall is a devout Christian.

“Faith, particularly evangelical Christianity, has in recent decades been one of the defining elements of US rightwing politics,” with its adherents providing the core of a particular political support.

Transatlantic Links

There are some links. Orr is personally connected to JD Vance that he has welcomed him at his private residence. Orr is also active in the National Conservatism movement, which has connections to the US religious-populism world.

However, direct comparisons quickly break down due to a simple matter of scale. While polling shows that nearly a quarter of US adults are evangelicals, the proportion for the UK is about a tenth of that at most.

A Different Landscape

There is another important factor to consider. While US evangelicals tilt strongly to the right, recent surveys by the UK’s Evangelical Alliance suggests that the broader situation here is quite different.

A poll of nearly 1,500 evangelicals shows the Labour Party in the first place with over a quarter backing. Reform and the Liberal Democrats are level on 20%, with the Conservatives on 18%.

Further polling demonstrate backing from evangelicals for more generous welfare payments, but also significant concern about plans to permit assisted suicide.

“Sometimes with evangelicals there can be a gap between opinions, particularly regarding social issues, and how people cast their ballot,” explained a representative. “For example, someone might have a strong opinion on abortion, but they do not view voting as likely to lead to change.”

Faith Across the Aisle

Evangelism is present in parliament, including cross-party faith-based meetings. But it is a phenomenon present on the political left, with figures like Kruger balanced out by Tim Farron and the Labour MP Rachael Maskell.

Maskell is explicit about how faith informs her politics, especially concerning issues such as poverty.

“Moral justice was ‘a big part’ of the party's ethos,” she stated. “It’s part of our roots, how we think about disparity in society, making sure we have a just system.”

A Newer Strain

Nonetheless, there exists a distinct and more recent side to religion in UK politics, one influenced by US concepts of religious nationalism.

Tommy Robinson has begun to portray himself as explicitly Christian, though a lot of this is done as a counterpoint to Islam.

In a similar vein, Nick Tenconi, who leads the UK branch of the Turning Point group, posts social media messaging about the country needing to “return to Christ” combined with anti-Islam content.

In a dramatic manifestation of this, a linked Christian nationalist group named King’s Army paraded through Soho, a location apparently selected as it is the centre of London’s LGBT community.

Limited Influence

These elements remain, however, relatively marginal in UK politics. While critics sometimes depict certain figures as wealthy incubators of American-style religious politics, friends insist they are simply observant believers who are strongly opposed to any politicisation of faith.

He has been not averse to sometimes unconventional rhetoric, for example using a speech to censure what he said was a younger generation influenced by a mix of ideologies.

“Here in Britain you do have some Christian nationalists, but when it comes to politics it more often be a sort of Christian nostalgia, linked to our historic identity,” said one commentator.

A parliamentarian of faith with conservative views observed that while the issue of assisted dying had helped bring together MPs with faith, any links beyond that felt restricted.

“I certainly don’t get the sense of much of an organized faith-based lobby,” they commented. “For me, my faith is more a basis for what I personally hold. And here, religion is not really a decisive electoral issue.”