Faith leaders welcome King’s new ‘protector of multi-faith nation’ title
Christian, Muslim and Jewish figures praise pluralist rewrite of King’s traditional ‘protector of the faith’ job description
Faith leaders have welcomed King Charles’ official new job as protector of “the multi-faith nation”, an expansion of the monarch’s historic role of “head of the Church of England and defender of the faith”.
Adam Kelwick — the imam at Liverpool’s Abdullah Quilliam Mosque — said: “King Charles’ commitment to protect faith within a multi-faith society is what all great historical heads of state have done before him.
“He follows in the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, the Christian Negus of Ethiopia, Sultan Fatih Mehmed and Pope Leo XIV, who have all been firm enough in their own faith to recognise the importance of protecting the rights of those with different beliefs.”
The announcement, he added, would send a message of reassurance to minority communities in the UK at a time when “unwelcoming narratives” were taking hold about migrants in Britain.
Speaking to Hyphen at the Religion Media Centre’s annual conference at the Methodist Central Hall in Westminster on Monday, Dr Charlotte Bannister-Parker — the canon at Christ Church Cathedral Oxford and a research affiliate at Oxford University’s Laudato Si Research Institute — said she hoped Charles would grow in his own faith as a result of the increased responsibility.
“Becoming defender of the faiths means that he, in his role as King, is understanding how our country is growing and developing and emerging as a multi-faith and pluralistic society which welcomes all people from all over the world of all faiths,” she said. “And that is absolutely critical as a leader, because it will engender both trust and understanding, and it will be realistic.”
She added that Charles “attends a lot of interfaith panels and a lot of interfaith places of worship” already, but that the new role would enable him to “give more of a voice” to “emerging faiths in this country”.
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“The King has always shown himself as being a unifying personality who cares very deeply and passionately about all people in his kingdom,” said rabbi Herschel Gluck, president of the Stamford Hill Shomrim, a Jewish neighbourhood watch group, and co-chair of the Arab-Jewish Forum. “I think it sends a message that everyone in this country is important. That everyone in the country deserves to be protected. I think there is an important role he [Charles] can play in further developing unity and harmony.”
However, the move has been met with criticism from some. Gavin Ashenden, a former Anglican priest who served as one of Queen Elizabeth II’s chaplains prior to his conversion to Catholicism, suggested that the King might be a “traitor”, describing mutuality between the Abrahamic faiths as “shallow and fantasy revisionism” and adding that Islam contains “aggressive and autocratic programmes”. He reiterated his views in the Catholic Herald.
