Conservative Christians are flocking on board the ARC. I went along to find out why

“Welcome aboard the ARC!”

With those words the Conservative Peer Baroness Philippa Stroud opened a conference unlike any other I have ever attended.

At times the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) three day event at London’s ExCeL felt like a Conservative Party, or perhaps Reform Party, conference. At other moments, I could almost have been attending a Christian apologetics seminar at Spring Harvest.

4,000 delegates gathered from all over the English speaking world to hear speeches, debates and panels on issues ranging from economics to parenting and from happiness to how to prevent the fall of Western civilisation as we know it.

The leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch MP gave one of the first speeches, while the Reform UK leader Nigel Farage MP was interviewed by Canadian Psychologist Jordan B Peterson (pictured, above). We live in divisive times, and I’m aware the three people cited in this paragraph have the potential to bring some readers out in a rash. But bear with me, because politics is only half the story.

Christians don’t imitate Christ  because he’s a good alternative to “wokery” but because we genuinely believe he is God

That’s because the programme was also replete with gifted Christian apologists. Os Guinness and Amy Orr-Ewing gave sterling defences of the faith. They spoke with courage and clarity. They didn’t hide their Christian convictions. They stated them explicitly.

Lurching from the Coptic Orthodox Archbishop Angelos quoting Romans 8 to The Spectator editor Michael Gove defending a protectionist economic policy could give you whiplash. But it’s also strangely refreshing. That’s because there appears to be no secular-sacred divide at ARC. Instead, there’s a willingness to bring God back into the political picture.

Both sides of the story?

The problem, of course, is you only get one side of the story. If you hadn’t guessed already, this is a conference that sits firmly on the political right (organisers say they invited Labour politicians but none were willing to come).

There were occasional points of difference (one speaker arguing we must get on with embracing technology, the next warning the proliferation of smart speakers in schools is seriously damaging our children). The most significant deviation from the norm came from New York Times columnist David Brooks who dared to (gently) criticise Donald Trump and was repaid with a mixed reaction, including a few boos.

The range of topics considered was impressive. The American entrepreneur and co-founder of PayPal, Peter Thiel, joined via video link to explain how the rise of powerful large language models such as those employed by Chat GPT raise profoundly spiritual questions. If your identity and value as a human being is tied to your productivity and if robots can do your job better than you can, then you are disposable. Where does your worth come from? The only answer to this conundrum, according to Theil, is to adopt the Christian view of what it means to be human. Christians believe humanity is unique because we are “created in the image of God”, not because of our cognitive ability, or lack thereof. 

For the (apparently numerous) Christian delegates, Theil’s comments were an obvious encouragement. Indeed, the willingness of speakers to wear their faith on their sleeve without apology is further evidence of what Justin Brierley describes as the “surprising rebirth of belief in God.” When Richard Dawkins et al were in the ascendency in the mid-2000s it was unthinkable that Christian apologists would be invited to quote scripture in front of thousands of people at any political event, or that tech billionaires would voice their respect for principles found in Genesis. Nowadays, it’s normal… at least at ARC.

Jesus at the centre

But while appreciation for the values of Christianity, which have informed and built much of Western civilisation is good, it’s not enough. We Christians don’t imitate Christ  because he’s a good alternative to “wokery” but because we genuinely believe he is God, and that he really lived, died and rose again on the third day. This was a point well articulated by the social critic Os Guinness. “The Christian faith will do nothing for civilisation if it’s viewed as useful,” he declared. “It will only be true and effective if it’s understood to be true and you have enough people as citizens who have a loyalty to ultimate reality.” One got the impression that this needed to be said, and that without this guidance, there were people at ARC – both on and off stage – who would be in danger of co-opting Christianity for their own political cause.

ARC is evidence of how people feel ostracised for expressing conservative opinions

Jordan Peterson, for example, is clearly respectful of scripture and open to the claims of Christianity, but has seemed reluctant to actually cross the line of faith in a personal way. In yet another demonstration of how close he seems to be getting to gospel truth, Peterson opened the conference by explaining our society is not built on power (the lens through which postmoderns are accused of viewing the world) but on “voluntary self sacrifice.” It’s an intriguing idea, but was somewhat ruined by his theological faux pax when he mistakenly said “voluntary self sacrifice” is “the cornerstone the builders rejected.”

Sorry Jordan, that’s actually Jesus.

Conservative ideals

There’s plenty to applaud at ARC, including how Baroness Stroud took every opportunity to affirm a positive and hopeful vision of the future. Within seconds of the conference beginning, she was quoting scripture, charging those gathered to play their part in “rebuilding the ancient ruins” (Isaiah 61:4). Sure, plenty of the ideas at ARC will be contentious for those on the left. But there are millions of Christians in the UK and elsewhere who believe in conservative ideals. They worry about the divisive nature of identity politics, they believe the family is the building block of a great society, they are patriotic and they believe in making the world a better place. 

Some of this group also think that truth is under threat and must be robustly defended within the current culture war. Net zero is an act of self harm (Christian billionaire Sir Paul Marshall was especially passionate on this point). Men are men and women are women. This country is not racist. Such sentiments were expressed openly within ARC, but would be quickly questioned in many other settings – and by both Christians and non-Christian alike. 

Whatever you make of it, the existence of ARC is evidence of how plenty of people across the West, some Christians among them, do feel ostracised for expressing conservative opinions. The Overton window has moved too far to the left, they say, and the growth in popularity of alternative platforms such as GB News (who had a major presence at ARC) is evidence that mainstream media has failed a chunk of the population. Liberals may mock much of this thinking (and journalists like me may not like it) but it does not change the reality that large numbers of people, including some Christians, feel mainstream media has been disrespectful and dismissive of their views, especially around subjects such as Brexit and immigration.

An alternative option

ARC isn’t for everyone. For many it will be too expensive and/or too politically biased. But if you’re a Christian who cares about cultural renewal, there is an alternative event for you.

The similarities between ARC and The Everything Conference are numerous and intriguing. Both promote cultural renewal, both feature Christian speakers, both attract Christian delegates from across denominational backgrounds, both take place in London and…both are run by Baroness Philippa Stroud. So if you care about transforming the world for the flourishing of humanity, if you want to contribute towards positive change in your workplace or sphere of influence, and if you want to explore all of this in an overtly Christian setting, go along on Saturday 17 May.

A non-discounted ticket to ARC would have set you back £1,500. A place at The Everything Conference is a mere £75. That’s a bargain – whatever your politics.