ON Maundy Thursday, King Charles III delivered his annual Easter message from Durham Cathedral, a moment intended to honour the Christian essence of Holy Week. As the head of the Church of England, his words carry spiritual authority for a nation deeply rooted in Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection.
Yet his message failed to honour this Christian essence, revealing instead a troubling trend: a universalist approach that generalises the specific truths of the Gospel. For families and nations seeking clarity amid cultural confusion, we must ask: does the Defender of the Faith uphold Christ’s unique teachings, or does he dilute them into a vague spirituality?
Charles began with an undeniable Christian truth: ‘The abiding message of Easter is that God so loved the world . . . that He sent His Son to live among us to show us how to love one another.’ He emphasised Jesus washing the disciples’ feet, describing it as a ‘token of His love that knew no bounds’, central to the Maundy Thursday narrative in John 13:1–17.
Then he expanded on this message: ‘The love He showed . . . reflected the Jewish ethic of caring for the stranger and those in need, a deep human instinct echoed in Islam and other religious traditions.’
This transition from Christian specificity to universal ethics represents a significant shift for an Easter message from the head of the Church of England.
At first glance, this interfaith acknowledgment appears commendable, an effort to unite the Abrahamic faiths through shared values of compassion and service. However, as I mentioned in a recent post on X (March 25, 2025):
‘What seems obvious is that he uses a part of the Gospel but then generalises the sentiment to be universalist. The Gospel does indeed say God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son; however, it continues, ‘that whosoever believeth in HIM should not perish, but have everlasting life’ (John 3:16). Salvation is attained through belief in Christ Jesus.’
Charles’s message falls short of conveying this central truth, presenting Jesus’s love as a universal ethic, ‘a deep human instinct’ rather than the divine act of salvation that Christians specifically commemorate at Easter.
This universalist approach is not new for our monarch. His 2024 Christmas message faced similar criticism for suggesting that all faiths are equivalent, equating the Nativity with values found in other religions. In 2023, he emphasised ‘universal values’ within the ‘Abrahamic family of religions’, advocating for tolerance among different faiths. Even further back, his 2018 remarks praised the co-existence of the ‘three great Abrahamic faiths’, focusing on shared history rather than theological distinctions (Westminster Abbey address, March 13, 2018).
While well-intentioned, this pattern risks diminishing the Gospel from a transformative truth about Christ’s divinity, death, and resurrection to merely a moral lesson on kindness.
To understand why this is significant, we must remember that Easter revolves around a claim unique to Christianity: Jesus Christ, God incarnate, died for humanity’s sins and rose again, offering salvation specifically to those who believe in Him. As John 3:16-17 states:
‘For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.’
By contrast, other Abrahamic faiths hold fundamentally different views of Jesus. Judaism regards Him as a historical figure rather than the promised Messiah, while Islam honours Him as a prophet rather than as divine. These are not minor distinctions: they represent fundamental theological differences regarding the identity of Jesus and the significance of Easter.
Charles’s emphasis on shared ethics – specifically, love and care for others – while valuable, obscures these distinctions. For Christians throughout history and across the globe today, Easter is not primarily about a universal ethic; rather, it centres on a specific historical and spiritual event: Christ’s atonement, which reconciles God and humanity (2 Corinthians 5:21).
This tension becomes particularly significant when considering Charles’s constitutional role as Defender of the Faith. This title, held by British monarchs since Henry VIII, entails a sacred duty to uphold the teachings of the Church of England.
Previous monarchs, from Elizabeth I to George VI, navigated religious differences while affirming the unique tenets of Christianity. Queen Elizabeth II, while respectful of all faiths, frequently expressed her personal faith in Christ during her Christmas messages.
Charles’s message affirms Jesus’s love but falls short of addressing the more challenging aspects of the Gospel: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’ (John 14:6). This teaching can be difficult for many individuals, and perhaps even for a king, but it remains a fundamental tenet of Christ’s message – and of the Church.
Charles has a long history of universalist thinking. In the 1990s, he expressed a desire to be the ‘defender of all faiths’ rather than a single faith (BBC interview, November 1994). His 2023 coronation incorporated interfaith elements, featuring voices from Jewish, Muslim and Hindu traditions, which reflects his pluralistic approach. While he admires perennialist thinkers such as René Guénon, who identify universal truths across different faiths, Charles tends to emphasise practical ethics over transcendent truth claims.
Charles’s Abrahamic motif, while unifying, overlooks significant divides among the three major faiths. Christianity regards Abraham as the father of faith (Romans 4:11–12), a role fulfilled in Christ’s salvation (Galatians 3:16). In contrast, Islam traces its lineage through Ishmael, connecting Abraham to the Kaaba (Quran 2:127). Judaism links him to Isaac, the heir of the covenant (Genesis 17:19).
These distinctions are not mere details: they fundamentally shape each faith’s understanding of God and its purpose. By emphasising shared ethics, Charles risks promoting a form of universalism that mirrors the flattening of identity seen in globalism, potentially leaving families and nations disconnected from the singular truth of the Cross.
Charles’ universalist approach may strive for unity in diversity, but Easter calls Christians to a more profound love – the exclusive, saving power of the Cross. The most loving response is not to obscure distinctions but to clearly articulate the hope of the Gospel.
As we reflect on this Easter season, let us remember that clarity in faith provides the very foundation that families and nations need in an increasingly relativistic world. The unique message of Easter – Christ’s death and resurrection for our salvation – remains as essential and transformative today as it has been throughout Christian history.
