The French writer Julien Benda coined the phrase la trahison des clercs, meaning ‘the treason of the intellectuals’. By this he meant that the intelligentsia had abdicated the proper standards of intellectual enquiry and argument in favour of political advocacy. He launched his attack on the intellectual corruption of the age exactly a century ago, in 1924.

Today the West is faced by another treason: that of the clerics.

The undermining of the West

The Western civilisation which until recently has dominated the world, its institutions, science and laws, and which has brought about the incredible advances in science and technology which have improved the lot of billions, was created in Western Europe mainly through the influence, teaching and power of one single institution – the Church.

It is frightening to think that the leaders of the various ecclesiastical institutions throughout the West are now actively working in a way which undermines the structures and values of that civilisation. By encouraging the influx of untold numbers of immigrants who not only do not share the values of the West but actively oppose them, they are advancing the downfall of the Western world.

By encouraging the influx of untold numbers of immigrants who not only do not share the values of the West but actively oppose them, they are advancing the downfall of the Western world.

Paul Butler, Bishop of Durham and the Church of England’s spokesman on immigration, assumes that all illegal immigrants have genuine asylum claims and regrets that the UK government is not doing more to support and encourage them: “The Home Secretary acknowledges the growing global refugee crisis, which we can’t solve on our own, but it is disappointing that the Government has decided to not take on a greater role in leading the world to equitably support those forced to flee their home.”

Naivety is not a good look for a leader, even in the CofE. Whilst clearly some illegal migrants are fleeing serious persecution and danger, evidence shows that many others are not.

Italian reception

The ecumenical group Churches Together in Britain and Ireland has stressed their welcome and support for those crossing the Mediterranean and the Channel in search of a better life. This accords with recent statements by the Pope. In August of this year, Pope Francis sent his blessings and support for the mission of Mediterranea Saving Humans, an Italian organisation that picks up migrants and refugees attempting the dangerous Mediterranean crossing from Africa, and ferries them safely to Italy.

“I wish you all the best and send my blessing to the crew of Mediterranea Saving Humans and to Migrantes. I pray for you. Thank you so much for your witness. May the Lord bless you and may the Virgin protect you,” wrote the Pope.

How are we expected to safely assimilate people entering Europe who have a strong and defined culture when our own European culture is decaying?

Thanks to the support of Migrantes, the Italian bishops foundation devoted to aiding migrants, the re-purposed tugboat used by Mediterranea Saving Humans is to be joined by another ship. This will carry extra volunteers, including an intercultural mediator, and a small group of journalists to publicise their efforts.

The organisation has been ordered by the Italian government to deliver any rescued migrants to northern Italian ports. Mediterranea has responded by saying they refuse to land immigrants in any port outside Sicily. By not going to the northern ports they can make more trips to Tunisia to ferry their human cargo. It could also be argued that by doing so, they may actually be endangering more lives, by encouraging more people to make the dangerous crossing.

British values?

In Europe our church leaders are encouraging us to import in ever larger numbers people who don’t share our cultural heritage. This at a time when that heritage is disintegrating around us. How are we expected to safely assimilate people entering Europe who have a strong and defined culture when our own European culture is decaying?

With the demise of Christianity in the West, the common culture created by the Church and its teachings is crumbling. The definition of ‘Western values’ is uncertain. Over the last few years politicians as distinct as Gordon Brown and Michael Gove have wished to emphasise ‘British values’. These initiatives were announced with considerable media attention. Then it was realised that no one could come up with a definition upon which all could agree – and they were quietly dropped.

We are unclear about who we are and uncertain about what we value.

We are unclear about who we are and uncertain about what we value. As a civilisation, the West would be in serious trouble even if we didn’t have a large and increasing Muslim population who emerge from and cling to non-Western values. That we do have such a population only makes our unacknowledged crisis more acute, urgent and volatile.

Elitist liberal bubble

The West’s political and technocratic elites live apart from the rest of us: they inhabit a liberal bubble where everything is well-regulated and people are invariably respectful to each other. The only people from minority backgrounds they encounter are literate, cultured graduates just like themselves. They think that the rest of us live in the same atmosphere and cannot understand why multiculturalism isn’t working. If we say that the real world is not just like theirs, they genuinely think that we are bigots and racists.

Many of our church leaders (particularly within the Established Church) come from that liberal graduate class. Their thinking is shaped by the sugar-coated feel-good world view of their peers. Do these sentimental clerics actually think that all will be well for Europe’s Christians as the descendants of these immigrants assume greater power? How is life for Christians in the Muslim world today? Do we find they have freedom of worship, freedom to evangelise, freedom to openly proclaim the gospel?

Destruction of Europe

Are there signs that there is a mass movement of Muslims integrating with and accepting the now-receding values of Western civilisation? Or is the increasing scorn towards Christianity in the post-Christian West and the growth of rootless secularism acting against integration? It would be more realistic to argue that the increasingly hedonistic culture of our day is leading to an increased rejection of the West and reinforces the beliefs of young Muslims in the teachings of hardline Islam.

It would be more realistic to argue that the increasingly hedonistic culture of our day is leading to an increased rejection of the West and reinforces the beliefs of young Muslims in the teachings of hardline Islam.

It has to be acknowledged that European immigration policy has developed in a reactive, haphazard, sentimental manner without clearly stated goals. Many worry about the harms it does to both high-skill and low-skill European workers.

But of greater concern should be the destruction of the concept of Europe itself until all that remains is a geographical entity. Do our ecclesiastical dignitaries and administrators realise the damage they are doing?

The Rev. Dr Campbell Campbell-Jack is a retired Church of Scotland minister; now a member of the Free Church of Scotland. Check out his many incisive articles on his blog, A Grain of Sand.