In this reflection, Vicky Longbone, a Church Related Community Worker for Derby A2C (Alive to Community), explores the rise in division and hostility, and what it means to respond as Christians.
When did flying a flag, claiming patriotism, and expressing concern about immigration become something darker 鈥� something that slips so easily into hostility towards those who are different?
I find myself increasingly troubled by how our faith is being used, not as a source of love and welcome, but as a justification for exclusion and intolerance.
Recently, an incident in Derby, where several people were injured after a car mounted a pavement, prompted a wave of reaction online and in communities. At the time, very little was known about the suspect. Yet almost immediately, assumptions were made. Because the driver was described as being 鈥渇rom Derby, originally from India鈥�, some were quick to label him, to decide his religion, his motives, and his guilt.
What followed was deeply unsettling.
Voices grew louder, not in compassion for those who were injured, but in anger, fear and division. People who might once have been cautious in their words began to share posts and opinions rooted in suspicion and prejudice. Complex global issues were reduced to slogans. Human beings were reduced to labels.
And all the while, the language of patriotism was used to justify it.
鈥淏ut it鈥檚 OK,鈥� the argument goes, 鈥渨e鈥檙e just protecting our country.鈥�
But who are we protecting it from? And at what cost?
In my own experience, I have seen people I have known for years 鈥� friends, neighbours, acquaintances 鈥� begin to express views that I never expected from them. At the same time, others have surprised me in the opposite way, showing compassion and courage in speaking out against hatred. It has been both heartbreaking and revealing.
As Christians, we are called to something different.
Jesus does not call us to fear the stranger, but to welcome them. He does not call us to draw lines between 鈥渦s鈥� and 鈥渢hem鈥�, but to recognise the dignity of every person. Again and again, scripture reminds us of our responsibility to care for the vulnerable, the outsider, the foreigner 鈥� remembering that God鈥檚 people were once strangers themselves.
To use the name of Christ as a badge of exclusion is not just mistaken, it is a profound misunderstanding of the Gospel.
This is not to ignore the real and complex challenges around immigration, or to dismiss genuine concerns. But when those concerns harden into suspicion, and suspicion into hatred, something has gone badly wrong.
We must ask ourselves: how did we get here?
How did we move from being a society that valued tolerance and diversity, to one where division can so quickly take hold? How did patriotism become something that excludes rather than unites?
And perhaps most importantly: how do we respond?
As followers of Christ, we are called to be people of truth, compassion and justice. That means challenging narratives that dehumanise others. It means resisting the pull of easy answers and loud voices. It means choosing love, even when it is difficult, even when it sets us apart.
Because the call of Christ is clear.
To love our neighbour.
To welcome the stranger.
To stand against injustice.
In a time of growing division, that calling matters more than ever.
If you want to see a society that welcomes the stranger, the Joint Public Issues Team (JPIT) has a dedicated webpage kept up-to-date with briefings, resources and campaigns.
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