King Charles III’s Controversial Approach to Defender of the Faith

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Charles III became king on Sept. 8, 2022 when his mother Queen Elizabeth II died. Two days later he was proclaimed king by the Accession Council of the United Kingdom. In 2023 King Charles will have his coronation. A coronation is a holy moment, where he will be anointed with oil and asked if he will maintain the Christian faith.

There has been a lot of speculation on how the king will operate in his position as the ‘Defender of the Faith.’ During Queen Elizabeth’s reign, she was vocal about her Christian beliefs and dependency upon God.

Friday, the king met with leaders across multiple faiths to talk about the future of the role. “I have always thought of Britain as a ‘community of communities’ that has led me to understand that the sovereign has an additional duty—less formally recognized but to be no less diligently discharged,” the king said in the meeting.

King Charles made it clear that his stance is to defend all faiths whether Muslim, Christian, Buddhist or even secular beliefs. Citing love as the premise of the Christian faith, the king says he intends to extend that love to protect a multitude of other faiths.

The title ‘Defender of the Faith’ was given to King Henry 500 years ago. Talking about the role in a 1994 documentary King Charles says, “I personally you see, would much rather see it as defender of faith, not ‘the faith.'”

In the documentary he continues the interview saying Christian faith causes a great deal of division. “Hundreds of year’s people have fought to the death over these things,” King Charles says.

For thousands of years people have fought to defend Christianity. Since the apostles in the New Testament and still to this day, martyrs give their life for the gospel to continue advancing throughout the world.

Matthew 5:10 says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

The Bible is offensive to those who don’t believe it, but true love is speaking truth. 1 John 3:18 says, “My little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth.”

King Charles says his beliefs are deeply rooted in the Anglican faith. Rafiq Hayat, head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community organization told AFP they believe there will be a smooth transition from the queen. Hayat says King Charles has “A great relationship with the Muslim world.”

In the 1994 video, King Charles says, “I have always felt the Catholic subjects of the sovereign, are equally as important as the Anglican ones, the Protestant ones. Likewise, I think the Islamic subjects, the Hindu subjects, the Zoroastrian subjects of the sovereign, are of equal and vital importance.”

The kings actions so far depict the same viewpoints from the 28-year-old video. It is unclear how that stance will reflect in his role as the ‘Defender of the Faith.’ For Christians, there is only one true, living God. Jesus came down from heaven and died on the cross for us, and He rules and reigns at the right hand of God. Any other god is false. {eoa}

Shelby Lindsay is an assistant editor for Charisma Media.