Britain a Christian nation?

With all this talk about whether Britain is still to be called a Christian country, it seems to me that certain historical distinctions have to be drawn. First, there is no doubt that England (rather than “Britain”) is traditionally a Christian country, claiming a faith that reaches back to the days of St Augustine (of Canterbury). Secondly, there can be no doubt that it was Henry VIII who set afoot the long-drawn-out process of secularisation with the Church subordinated to the state – not so much a Protestant as an Erastian Church. Thirdly, there is little doubt but that what remains of “Britain” today can no longer be called Christian – as Cardinal Hume who pointed this out long before David Cameron. In view of this present situation, it seems to me that, practically speaking, there is no point in maintaining the old-fashioned, if not discredited, idea of “establishment”.
Fr Peter Milward SJ, Sophia University, Tokyo