British politicians are doing God. Voters would rather they didn’t.

LONDON — The British public want politicians to steer clear of religion just as key Westminster figures amp up debates on Christianity’s role in the country, new polling shows.

A survey for POLITICO by independent London-based polling company Public First found 65 percent of voters back a separation between Christianity and politics — a view held by a clear majority of supporters of all the main political parties.

The findings come as Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s challengers on the populist left and right discuss Christianity more explicitly.

Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage has repeatedly said he wants to “cherish” Britain’s “Judeo-Christian culture.” The party’s Home Affairs Spokesperson Zia Yusuf, a practicing Muslim, vowed to “protect the Christian heritage of Britain” and said Christianity is “core to the history and the DNA of the country.” 

The right-wing party has promised to give churches listed status meaning their character cannot be altered, and they can’t be converted into places of worship for other religions, if it wins power.

Public First polling suggests voters do see Christianity as a clear part of Britain’s history. Asked about Farage’s assertion Britain is built on Judeo-Christian values, 40 percent of voters agree, with only a fifth (22 percent) at odds with that view. Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green supporters agreed more strongly when the statement was not linked to Farage.

But less than a quarter (23 percent) want Christianity to play a greater role in politics, and even among Reform UK supporters the number is only 28 percent.

Reform is aware of the risk of overdoing its message with the public, according to Danny Kruger, the party’s head of preparing for government.

“The public are very distrustful of power and the abuse of power,” he told POLITICO, and therefore are “resistant to finger-wagging moralism” from Westminster — even when they agree with the message.

Kruger added: “They don’t like politicians moralizing, but they do think that our politics and policy should reflect the culture of the country, which is actually quite traditionalist. That’s the tension that we’re in.”

Public First’s Research Manager Jules Walkden said: “The public views ‘Judeo-Christian values’ as an important part of the country’s history, but not of modern-day politics. Reform’s move towards religious messaging is therefore unlikely to expand its base.”

“A majority of the public, including Reform’s own supporters, oppose a greater role for religion in politics, with most voters also resistant to it being used as a political wedge,” he added.

Sitting above politics

At the other end of the spectrum, on the populist left, some Green Party members want to actively break the link between church and state.

A policy to disestablish the Church of England, leaving the prime minister with no role in selecting the archbishop of Canterbury and expel bishops from the House of Lords, was set out in a document seen by the Daily Mail.

Party officials stress that does not mean such a policy would appear in its general election manifesto, and a party spokesman said: “The Green Party have a long standard philosophical principle of separating state and religion, but have no immediate plans to include any such policies in their manifesto.”

POLITICO reported earlier this month that the party is conducting a policy review and plans to junk some of its more unpopular proposals.

The Public First polling shows public support leans against what’s known as disestablishmentarianism — even if there is broader sentiment that politics should be separated from religion.

Only a fifth (21 percent) of voters want to end the Church of England’s status as Britain’s established church, with 40 percent rejecting such a move. Reform UK supporters are more strident in their opposition to a break (54 percent oppose the move) compared to the Greens (28 percent).

A third of those polled (32 percent) support removing bishops from the House of Lords, and two-fifths (39 percent) endorse ending the PM’s role in appointing senior church leaders.

Support for the Church of England’s role in state ceremonies like coronations and Remembrance Day services is even stronger, with just 19 percent of those polled supporting Christianity playing a lesser role.

The online survey of 2,012 adults took place between March 30 and April 1.

Dan Bloom and Hanne Cokelaere contributed to this report.