What does it mean to be British?

Or even English?

This is important to consider, as there has been so much abusive and hateful discussion around this. And I was recently made to consider this, and it made me think.

Well, we are made up of Celts - from various European sources - and then Roman, from Italy. Of course, the Roman influences also drew in from all parts of the empire, so that is itself quite a mix.

Of course, you also have the Angles and the Saxons, from what is now Germany, and that area. And then there were the Vikings who add to the complex mix we have - from Scandinavia. So even this far (lets say 1500 years ago) there is a good range of European blood in the genetic make up of the "British".

There is a different between "British" and "English", but the pot is the same, the actual mix being different. Of course there is variation across the country as well - with all of these roots, there will be a whole range of combinations.

Then we have the Norman Invasion - 1066 and all that - and there is a strong input of French blood into the mix. In fact, because of the nature of this invasion, many of the "British Aristocracy" are actually Norman by origin - or if not by origin, there is almost certainly Norman blood in the lines. Completing the European mix, and meaning that being English - from 800 years ago - meant being very strongly European.

Does it end there? Of course not. As we move onto the time of Empire, we spread across the world, and - consensually or not - there was Asian, Indian, African and Carribean blood included in the mix. Like it or not, being "British" means being global.


Some of those who want to claim being "English" as special might point to the fact that we are "Christian". Which is an interesting claim - given that less that 1M go to Anglican churches (the national church), and maybe 5% of the population regularly attend church*. Now I am not going to argue that you have to go to a church or similar to be a Christian, but to claim that we are a "Christian Country" when such a low proportion actually participate.

Of course, we have always had a challenging association with the Christian Church - when the Catholic church arrived, we disagreed (and conceded). We were sometimes welcoming reformers (and sometimes throwing them out), while eventually rejecting the Catholic authority entirely.

I think we are - by nature - more a folk religion people. I don't mean this disparagingly. I mean we like our religion to be rooted in here - this place, this land - and we love our traditions. We combine these and have something that might use the language of Christianity, but is a very British version of it. Which is very right.

But - crucially - it also means that we need to listen to other ideas, other challenges - especially, but not exclusively - other religions that have that sense of place. Or that sense of tradition, rite and practice.

Oddly enough, Islam seems like a religion we should accept and embrace, as embodying so much of what we embrace as our religion.


It is almost as if the real problem these people have with being British or not-British is something completely different.


*The figures are really difficult to identify - those who identify as Christian, those who attend annually, those who attend most weeks? I have gone with 5% as a reasonable approximation for the portion who might be actively involved in their church. It could well be up to 10% or even 15%, but the argument remains the same.