Kemi Badenoch has spoken of why she will “fight for” Christian values in society, despite describing herself as an “agnostic” having lost her personal belief in God.
The Conservative leader, speaking to Piers Morgan Uncensored, said she was a “cultural Christian” who thinks the faith “is a force for good”.
As the granddaughter of a Methodist minister, Badenoch was born in London but grew up in a Christain family in Nigeria, where she said the Bible was taken literally “as the living word of God”.
Badenoch explained how her crisis of belief came from the case of Josef Fritzl and the abuse of his daughter Elisabeth: “When I say I lost my faith. It was believing that every single thing in the Bible was true… Why were my prayers answered, but not her prayers?”
Asked by Morgan about whether she still prays, Badenoch responded: “No, but I say I’m a cultural Christian.
“That means that the culture of Christianity is one which I think is a force for good. I think churches are a good thing. I think that the Protestant work ethic … is very important. I think the Christian values, forgiveness, turning the other cheek, truth telling, all of those things are important, and I think that they are very much part of the culture of this country.
“This is a Christian country. I don't want to see Christianity disappear, and so even though I might not believe in every single thing that is in the Bible, overall I think that Christianity is a force for good, and I will fight for it."
With her husband and children being Catholic, Morgan asked the Tory leader whether she “might rekindle [her] belief in God”, to which she responded “I don’t think faith works like that”. Badenoch did admit she looks at “how lucky [she] has been” with her career and question whether there is “someone who is directing these things”.
She added: “I don't describe myself as an atheist, I describe myself as agnostic. Maybe there is a God, maybe there isn't, but I will try and live my life according to certain values, which are Christian values.
“But I'm not going to use the Bible as a textbook for how to be in government or what rules and regulations should come in.”
Badenoch went on to say: “We talk a lot about values but not enough about culture. I think we have a great culture in this country. We're at risk of losing it if we don’t preserve it. So I fight for churches, I want to see them fixed. I want more money going in to preserving churches, which are often a repository of the history of every village. They tell a story of who we are and maybe who we’re going."
Social media comments about the interview drew praise for Badenoch’s defence of faith-based values, but questions about the motivation behind the “cultural Christian” label.
One X user responded “Kemi, you have questions and that’s okay. I pray God sends answers to you.”
“Kemi needs to learn quickly that Christianity and Christian values do not exist by default in this country. They exist because there are Christians. You like Christian stuff and you don’t want to see it disappear? Become a Christian, pick up a Bible, read it and follow Jesus”, posted another.