Nigel Farage's archbishop bashing leads to social media campaign backing 'negative' Justin Welby
'I am an atheist. I don’t ‘do’ Archbishops. Justin Welby seems to me a better human than Nigel Farage could ever imagine being'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A social media campaign has been launched to support Archbishop Justin Welby after Nigel Farage attacked his Christmas message. Archbishop Welby, who is the most senior bishop in the Church of England, took to Twitter on Christmas day to share his prayer for the day.
He posted: “Jesus came to us homeless and in a manger. This Christmas, please pray with me for the poor, hungry and homeless, here and abroad.”
While many followers welcomed his message and thanked him for sharing it, the Archbishop’s comments drew sharp criticism from Mr Farage. He tweeted: “Merry Christmas! Ignore all negative messages from the Archbishop of Canterbury and have a great day!”
In response to the exchange, users of the social media site have been sharing their support of Archbishop Welby; tweeting their well wishes with the hashtag #ImWithJustinWelby
Matt Key tweeted: “Nigel Farage clearly doesn’t understand the word ‘negative’ (among other things...). ImWithJustinWelby ImWithJesus”
David Mackenzie Mills tweeted: “Ignore those comments by Nigel Farage. Have a thought provoking year in solidarity with those who really need our attention.”
Others tweeted that they weren’t religious believers personally but still wanted to show their support for the Archbishop’s message. Adrian Littlejohn tweeted: “I am an atheist. I don’t ‘do’ Archbishops. ImWithJustinWelby Seems to me a better human than Nigel Farage could ever imagine being.”
Mr Farage lead the party between 2006 and 2009, before briefly steeping down and returning to the position in 2010, where he remained until this summer. He was replaced by Paul Nuttall as Ukip leader following the success of the Leave campaign in the Brexit referendum.
A few days prior to his comments directed at the Archbishop, Mr Farage also came under scrutiny for making comments about murdered MP Jo Cox, directed at her widower Brendan, which were perceived as being insensitive and inflammatory.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments