'Life of Brian' star John Cleese prompts backlash for lamenting loss of Christianity, rise of Islam

British actor and comedian John Cleese drew scorn for a recent X post lamenting the decline of Christianity amid a surging Islam in the United Kingdom, with many on social media blaming him for mocking the Christian faith throughout his career.

"The UK has always been based at the deepest level on Christian values, regardless of dogma," the 86-year-old Cleese said Monday in response to a video of British politician Susan Hall, who warned the historic Christian culture of the U.K. is quickly eroding.

"Despite the many mistakes made by churches, for centuries British people have been influenced by Christ's teaching. If these values are replaced by Islamic ones, this will not be Britain any more," Cleese added.

The UK has always been based at the deepest level on Christian values, regardless of dogmaDespite the many mistakes made by churches, for centuries British people have been influenced by Christ's teaching

If these values are replaced by Islamic ones, this will not be Britain… https://t.co/7wbwlz5lIC

— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) March 16, 2026

Some commenters on X suggested that Cleese, a veteran of the famous Monty Python comedy troupe, epitomized the post-war antipathy toward Christianity in his country and played a role in its cultural decline, with some singling out his role in "Monty Python's Life of Brian," a 1979 film mocking Jesus Christ and Christianity that drew widespread outrage when it was released.

"You're right," author Scott Roberts, who serves as pastor at Bayfair Baptist Church in Pickering, Ontario, said in response to Cleese. "Just like America and Canada, the UK's moral foundations were founded on the teachings of Jesus and the Bible."

"But cultures are not preserved by just history or slogans. They are shaped by continual, living faith. If Christians want Christ's values to endure, we must actually believe, speak, disciple, and live as salt and light today. Too many Brits (and Americans and Canadians) have fallen prey to laziness, while secularism and Islam have bulldozed over society."

"Mr. Cleese, you and your boomer celeb ilk mocked Christianity relentlessly, and not just through Life of Brian ... and now you are wondering what happened to the Britain of Christian values ... do you read what you have written?" posted Gray Connolly, an Australian barrister and writer.

"Life of Brian" recounts the story of a fake messianic figure named Brian and ends with Brian and a group of others being crucified while they sing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life," a cynical song expressing despair while scoffing at sin and death. The song was sung at the funeral of Monty Python member Graham Chapman, who struggled with homosexuality, loneliness and alcoholism before dying of cancer in 1989 at age 48.

During his irreverent eulogy for Chapman at St. Bartholomew's Church in London, Cleese joked that his friend had "gone to meet the great head of light entertainment in the sky." He also noted that Chapman had jokingly urged him to be the first person to say the F-word at a British memorial service, a request to which Cleese obliged as the crowd laughed.

Despite his jokes during his funeral, Cleese was so overcome with grief when Chapman died that he had to be taken out of the hospital room, according to the diary of fellow Monty Python member Michael Palin. Cleese sang "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" at the funeral with tears in his eyes, according to footage.

"For life is quite absurd and death's the final word, you must always face the curtain with a bow," the lyrics say. "Forget about your sin, give the audience a grin. Enjoy it, it's your last chance, anyhow."

During a famous tussle with Cleese and Palin on the BBC in 1979, the late British journalist, broadcaster and Christian apologist Malcolm Muggeridge dismissed their film as "a ridiculing of the founder of the Christian religion and of the Incarnation, in an extremely cheap, tenth-rate way."

Muggeridge, who delivered a lecture at the University of Waterloo in 1978 claiming that Christendom as a political and cultural force was coming to an end historically, warned the comedians they were effectively striking at the foundation of Western civilization and would not be viewed favorably by future generations.

"Nothing can alter the fact that if you were to make a list of all the greatest works of art in all fields, and all the greatest contributors to those works of art, you would find that this scene of the Incarnation, the story of the Incarnation, has played the largest part," he said.

"Now, in our 20th century, this film produces a sort of graffiti version of it, and I don't think in the eyes of posterity, it will have a very distinguished place," he added to the Monty Python stars.

Cleese's recent comments echo similar ones that Richard Dawkins made in 2024, when the British atheist author described himself as a "cultural Christian" and mourned the faith's waning cultural influence in Europe, while still deriding its key tenets as "nonsense."

While claiming he is "happy" the number of practicing Christians in the U.K. has cratered, Dawkins also acknowledged that Islam appears to be gathering strength in Europe as Christianity recedes, and noted he was "slightly horrified" that Ramadan lights adorned London's Oxford Street during Easter.