“The Archbishop of Canterbury appears willing to allow Christian values to decline or disappear.”

Farage's claim rests on two assertions: (1) that Archbishop Rowan Williams was content to see Christian values erode, and (2) the specific evidence that Williams "publicly argued that shari'a law would be welcome in British cities." **On the sharia law claim:** Williams delivered a nuanced academic lecture in February 2008 at the Royal Courts of Justice, part of a lecture series on "Islam in English Law." He explored whether limited aspects of religious law (noting this applied to Orthodox Judaism and Christian conscience clauses as well) could coexist with British civil law. He explicitly stated there could be "no blank cheques," that "nothing should be recognised which had the effect of removing from any individual the rights they were entitled to enjoy as a citizen of the UK," and that they were "not talking about parallel jurisdictions." He did not say sharia law would be "welcome in British cities" — that characterization misrepresents the lecture's content. **On the broader claim about Christian values:** Williams' public record up to December 2011 shows the exact opposite of willingness to let Christian values decline. He repeatedly and forcefully argued for their importance: - He accused the government of treating faith as a "problem" and an "eccentricity" practiced by "oddities, foreigners and minorities," and said this "de-normalises faith." - He urged politicians to "do God," saying "I think everybody ought to." - He warned about "the draining away of any residual notion that the state itself has or should have a moral foundation." - He said that without religion "our whole politics is likely to be in deep trouble." - In his 2010 address to Parliament, he argued that "good government from a Christian point of view is about the acknowledgement and reinforcement of human dignity" and called for political vision grounded in the divine image in human beings. Williams was one of Britain's most prominent public advocates for the continuing relevance of Christian values in national life. The claim that he appeared willing to let them decline or disappear is directly contradicted by his own words and actions. **Sources:** - Cambridge University Press / Ecclesiastical Law Journal: "Civil and Religious Law in England: A Religious Perspective" (text of Williams' 2008 lecture) — https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ecclesiastical-law-journal/article/abs/civil-and-religious-law-in-england-a-religious-perspective/DF63E3CC682629D2AA066BE75E87A650 - BBC News: "Archbishop's speech to General Synod" (Williams defending and clarifying his sharia lecture) — http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7239567.stm - BBC News: "Williams urges political 'morals'" — http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6594245.stm - BBC News: "Archbishop launches moral crusade" — http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2589863.stm - The Christian Institute: "Rowan Williams: Govt treats faith as problem" — https://www.christian.org.uk/news/rowan-williams-govt-treats-faith-as-problem/ - The Church of England in Parliament: "Giving to Caesar, Giving to God: Rowan Williams' address at the service for the new Parliament, June 2010" — https://churchinparliament.org/2010/06/08/giving-to-caesar-giving-to-god-rowan-williams-address-at-the-service-for-the-new-parliament-june-2010/ - The Guardian: "Full text: Archbishop of Canterbury's presidential speech" (February 2010) — https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/feb/09/full-text-archbishop-canterbury-speech