I'm an ex-bishop - this is surprising way UK could retain its Christian identity

Debates about immigration have dominated this summer's news. The boats of illegal immigrants keep arriving on the coast, the government's one-in-one-out policy stutters forward and debate rages on the issue of immigration in our national life. A case is often made that immigration is destroying the Christian character of our nation. The argument goes that Britain used to be a Christian country, with our laws, our political system and our democracy founded in Christian values.

These, we are told, are being gradually eroded by mass immigration to the country. Tommy Robinson's recent 'Unite the Kingdom' rally had people carrying crosses and singing hymns, all in the context of a generally anti-immigration mood. Of course, the decline in churchgoing in the UK is not news. A steady but slow decline from the mid 19th century to the 1950s turned into a more rapid decline both in churchgoing and wider belief since the 1960s. Is immigration to blame for this?

The reality is that most migrants who come to these shores are religious, many of them bringing a vibrant Christian faith with them. Between 1991-2001, just 400,000 Christians migrated to the UK.

In the next decade the figure rose to 1.2 million, and then nearly 2 million between 2011 and 2021. Most of these came from eastern Europe but also many from African countries and the Indian subcontinent.

For example, around 270,000 Nigerians now live in the UK, many of them with a strong, energetic Christian faith. London, as well as other cities, are full of African or Asian-heritage Christian congregations, often meeting in cinemas, warehouses, shops or traditional church buildings on Sunday afternoons.

Nearly half of Christians in London are non-white and one in five churchgoers across the UK come from an ethnic minority. Footballers such as Bukayo Saka and Marc Guéhi, artists like Stomzy or politicians such as David Lammy have all spoken of the deep impact their inherited but deeply personal Christian faith has upon their lives.

The loss of faith in contemporary Britain has primarily been amongst white people. In 2021, only 49% of white British people identified as Christian, down from 82% in 2001. It is my generation - the one that grew up in the 1960s and 70s - who are the ones who have lost their faith, and taught their kids not to believe, leading to the erosion of the role of Christianity in public life.

By contrast, many immigrants, especially from countries like Nigeria, where Christianity is vibrant and growing, are bringing their faith to the UK. Recent research from the Bible Society suggested that nearly half of young black people attend church at least monthly - much higher than among their white British counterparts.

Immigration is complex. And of course it is not just Christians who migrate to the UK. It isn't a matter of whether you're 'for' it or 'against' it. Britain should be a welcoming place for those fleeing hunger and warfare elsewhere.

We need to be careful about who has a right to enter. Yet paradoxically, if Britain is to retain its Christian character in any sense, it needs a strong and confident Christian church. And the key to that may lie in more immigration - of the right kind - not less.