Last night, on the third and final evening of Westminster Abbey’s “The Law, the Bible and Politics” lecture series, Theos Research Director, Nick Spencer, spoke on the integral part that the Bible has played in the formation of the British political landscape.

Drawing in large part from research conducted for his book, Freedom and Order: History, Politics and the English Bible, Nick painted a fascinating picture of how British identity and core values such as justice, democracy and equality have been shaped by the Bible. In doing so, he contended that just as it is “very difficult to understand English literary history without recourse to the Bible, so it is very difficult to grasp … British politics without a similar understanding.” He went on to conclude that, “The Bible has been the single most influential text in British political history.”

While acknowledging that the Bible has not been the sole influence upon national politics and that the text has been used to legitimise diverse and sometimes undesirable political ends, Nick was able to lay a compelling case for the immense political significance of the Bible, past and present, in this the 400th year anniversary of the King James Version.

To read the lecture transcript in full, please click here.

For information on future events at Westminster Abbey, including Theos co-sponsored series on “Christian Faith and Public Policy” next Spring, click here.