Faith identity and ideology "are assuming a more significant role in shaping political allegiance, civic participation, and the wider culture", a new report has found.
The report is the work of Paul Bickley and Tabitha von Kaufmann and has been produced on behalf of the Hope Not Hate network and the Good Faith Partnership.
They argue that faith is emerging "as a more visible and contested force in public life" as people re-think their religious and political alignments.
Faith communities feel a shared sense of marginalisation, while significant ideological diversity within each tradition has created “minorities within minorities”.
Interfaith relationships have been severely tested in recent years, especially since the 7 October 2023 terror attacks on Israel, and national interfaith structures have weakened due to defunding and loss of trust at a time when the report's authors argue they are needed most.
They say that Britain's "distinctive settlement in which people of different religious identities can coexist and contribute within a shared political life" without descending into sectarianism has become "increasingly precarious".
"Faith identity and ideology are assuming a more significant role in shaping political allegiance, civic participation, and the wider culture," the report says.
"Religious symbols and narratives are present in political discourse in ways that both inspire and divide. Christian imagery and language have surfaced in populist and far-right spaces, sometimes used positively to defend tradition and a broadly Christian heritage, but other times as a framework against both Islam and social liberalism.
"In Muslim-majority constituencies, the election of independent candidates on a Gaza platform has signalled new forms of political mobilisation.
"Global conflicts, particularly in the Middle East, reverberate powerfully in UK politics, undermining local and national cohesion and heightening vulnerabilities."
Traditional political coalitions that were "once strongly inflected by faith" are now "fragmenting", the report goes on.
"Labour has historically drawn strength from Catholic, non-conformist, Jewish, and Muslim communities that formed the urban working-class base, while the Conservatives were rooted in the Anglican middle and upper classes," it reads.
"Today, neither party can take such voters for granted, in part because of appeals to religious identity, sentiments, and solidarity.
"Electoral realignments and the decline of broad coalitions of interest have left space for sectarian appeals and identity-based mobilisation. These dynamics present challenges not only for progressive movements, but for the health of Britain’s democracy as a whole.
"Religious voters are disaffected; longstanding political-religious alignments are fraying; and faith-based identities are being strategically mobilised by political actors to deepen social divides."
These trends are emerging against a backdrop of "political polarisation, declining trust in institutions, and a sense of economic and cultural insecurity".
"Until recently considered marginal in an increasingly secular society, faith has now emerged as a more visible and contested force in public life," say the report's authors.
They conclude that there is no single solution and that further research needs to be done to properly understand these shifts within the wider prevailing social and political context.
There are some specific recommendations, though, and these include strengthening government-faith relations, embedding religious literacy across institutions, supporting interfaith collaboration, and promoting "a confident story of British pluralism rooted in shared civic values and respect for diversity".
