Bijan Omrani has a story to tell which he does under the provocative title, God is an Englishman. The sub-title is probably a better guide to what he is doing: Christianity and the Creation of England. Many readers will be aware of the wider narrative of the influence of Christianity on western culture in general, not least through Tom Holland’s masterful Dominion. Omrani seeks to take this sort of account down to the next level of granular detail; how specifically did Christianity form and shape law and institution and culture in Britain? That is an important task, for the author regards Christianity in England to be dying, and he laments the losses that this would engender. This provides him with an opportunity to expound a fascinating storyline. In this endeavour, however, the author is only partially successful.

The book is divided into 2 parts. In part 1, 12 chapters tour us through a history of Christianity in England and how our law, nationhood, ethics, spirituality and even the notion of kingship itself have their roots in Christian doctrine and belief and that English culture, arts, landscape, language, literature, music would all be ‘unrecognisable without the Christian leaven’ (page 6). In part 2, Omrani offers contemporary reflections on matters ranging from national identity, spiritual space and inter-faith dialogue.

The first few chapters focus on the development of law and education. Here, the author, drawing on his own legal background, shows himself a skilful weaver as he combines insight into the nature and development of law with the story of the origins of Christianity in Britain, or, to be more precise, England, as it is St Augustine’s mission from Pope Gegory that forms the basis of the narrative. Here Omrani is at his most gripping and compelling. He manages to write engaging narrative explaining how this mission laid ‘the foundations for the idea of English kingship and the idea of English nationhood’ (page 28). Similarly, the chapter on the law holds the attention and interest of the reader. He again uses examples to illustrate how the general duty of care in English law has its basis in Christianity, in particular in the parable of the good Samaritan. He quotes Lord Denning that the ‘precepts of religion, consciously or unconsciously’ (page 45) have guided the administration of justice. Further examples of influence are based around limited government and property rights.

The chapter on education continues with the same type of insight and narrative. He notes that from the arrival of Augustine’s mission, ‘the Church and the clergy were pre-eminent as the educators of England’ (page 76). Canterbury was an obvious centre of learning but so were the monastic settlements, in particular Lindisfarne and Jarrow. Books, learning and literacy were, of course, central to the monastic vision. Omrani also notes the Christian concern for the education of the poor – a central facet of the faith that ran not only through the Middle Ages but also into the nineteenth century with the ragged school movement. Omrani does not mention that and here we find the first hints of the problem with the book. Omrani is really only interested in the medieval and, dare one say, the Catholic origins of the impact of the faith on English culture. These are important but in a proper scholarly survey of the impact of Christianity, not exclusive.

By the time we get into the medieval church calendar and festivals, hot cross buns, rituals, holidays and so on, the book loses its big picture narrative. It is rather like the Reformation never really happened and all we need to do is understand is the medieval background. A scholar holding to the big picture narrative would at this point want to explore both aspects of British culture, the Catholic and the Protestant, their distinctiveness and interaction.

Yet, there are hints, glimpses into important and powerful topics which are crying out for more in-depth analysis and further discussion and reflection. Perhaps the most obvious example here is the place of the Bible in English in forming and shaping the long-term impact of the faith, both directly and through liturgical developments. There is a generalised description, on pages 175-181, but no comprehensive analysis of how the translation of the Bible into English, from the oldest and most original manuscripts put together in a new Greek translation by Erasmus of Rotterdam, led to such a fundamental shift in English life and culture. This was reinforced by the seismic impact of the appearance of the liturgy in English for the first time, carrying both doctrinal and cultural implications. The book would have been strengthened by a more far-reaching analysis here.

Part 3 is rather weak. Omrani correctly, in my view, debunks the standard theories of secularisation and the loss of ideas of association. He hints here at the role of the voluntary society in Christian history. Further reflection would have deepened the book’s storyline for it is in the voluntary society, Catholic and Protestant, that we see so much of the cultural impact of Christianity for the long term in education, medicine and welfare. These chapters lack depth and sound like a rehearsal of a personal manifesto that, in some respects, stands rather contrary to the picture which the author has sought to draw so far. To describe the Christianity which has shaped Britain as allowing space for inter-faith dialogue really says nothing at all. Indeed, I am not sure most readers sympathetic to the overall thesis would agree.

Perhaps it is the failure to deal with the impact of Protestantism on the Christian culture of England that leaves the book looking incomplete. There has been at least something of a literature about the death of Protestant Britain: the cultural and national signs and symbols which reflect the Protestant foundation of the British constitutional settlement, which, in some cases have faded, but which in others remain prominent. This was exposed to public view most obviously in the rituals and ceremonies which marked the transition of the monarchy to King Charles III following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022. The new king, Charles III, like his predecessors, had to make three statutory oaths on his accession to the throne: to uphold the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, to be a true and faithful Protestant and to uphold the rights and privileges of the Church of England. Given Omrani’s book is published in 2025, it is very odd indeed that he does not discuss these accession oaths. Nor, other than in a passing sentence (page 332), does he discuss the Coronation Service itself, or the central importance of the presentation of the Bible to the new monarch. It is worth quoting this part of the service in full:

‘Our gracious King: to keep your majesty ever mindful of the Law and Gospel of God as the Rule for the whole of life and government of Christian Princes, we present you with this Book, the most valuable thing that this world affords. Here is Wisdom; This is the royal Law; These are the lively Oracles of God.’

I do not think it is possible to consider the role of Christianity in England without considering these constitutional aspects.

We are left with the proverbial ‘curate’s egg’; good in parts. Bijan Omrani is surely correct when he says that ‘an objective survey of English history cannot deny the fundamental role played by Christianity in the development of national institutions, culture and identity’ (page 312). I commend the book: there is an important story to tell and some really useful insights, particularly in those early chapters. However, the omissions let the book down and weaken the narrative.

‘God is an Englishman: Christianity and the Creation of England’ by Bijan Omrani was published in 2025 by Forum, an imprint of Swift Press. (ISBN: 978-1-800-75306-8). 394pp.