A recent biographical piece on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed his sentiments towards Christianity as “a superb ethical system,” though he would classify himself as a “very, very bad Christian.”
British writer Tom McTague, who wrote the lengthy biographical piece featured in The Times on Saturday, encouraged the prime minister to speak more on his faith.
When asked about comments a friend reportedly made to news outlets saying that he assumed Johnson believed in a “pre-Christian morality system with a multitude of gods and no clear set of rules,” Johnson shared that he subscribes to Christianity.
“Christianity is a superb ethical system, and I would count myself as a kind of very, very bad Christian. No disrespect to any other religions, but Christianity makes a lot of sense to me,” the Prime Minister said.
According to The Christian Post, McTague pointed out that Johnson’s “ability to invite underestimation seems to shield him from the usual rules of politics.”
The writer quotes Frank Luntz, who was friends with Johnson at Oxford, as saying: “There’s a magic to Boris that allows him to escape some of the political challenges that he’s had since he became prime minister.
“People are more patient with him, they are more forgiving of him, because he’s not a typical politician,” he added.
During the G7 Summit in England last month, ITV’S Robert Peston asked Johnson whether he was now a practicing Roman Catholic, to which the prime minister answered, “I don’t discuss these deep issues, certainly not with you.”
When Peston told Johnson that Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer said he doesn’t believe in God, however, the prime minister immediately quoted Psalm 14, which says, “The foolish man has said in his heart there is no God.”https://a8a89af12c7ca500b803d5c960eba9d3.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
Johnson, who was baptized as a Catholic, had previously twice married as an Anglican. Then in May, Johnson married his third wife, Carrie Symonds, in a Catholic ceremony at Westminster Cathedral.
Questions surrounding the prime minister’s faith soon became a major issue. Due to a British rule, as a Catholic, Johnson will no longer be able to send the nominee names to Queen Elizabeth for Church of England bishops.
As reported by The Telegraph, Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland will now “send the names of new Church of England bishops to the queen, after a warning that the prime minister could be banished from office if he keeps doing so himself.”
An unnamed source at the Office of the Prime Minister, however, called the rule “incredibly anachronistic,” noting that under the rule, a Jewish or Muslim prime minister would be allowed to nominate bishops, but a Catholic Prime Minister would not.
