Remarkably, he goes on to blame the obesity epidemic on a crisis of religious faith: “You talk about the living bread of spiritual sustenance. Well, it’s not being provided by the blooming church, I can tell you that much. The living bread is being provided by Tesco.”

Warming to his theme, Johnson also says that instead of preaching Left-wing politics, the Archbishop of Canterbury and “religious leaders should try to fill what is obviously an aching spiritual void in people’s lives, that drives them to gorge themselves.” Predictably, there’s been a backlash, but is there any substance to this theory?

Certainly, there’s no guarantee that godliness is next to slenderness. For instance, the avoirdupois of Pope Francis cannot be denied. One might also think of G.K. Chesterton, a great walrus of a man, who literally wrote the book on Christian orthodoxy. Then there’s Saint Thomas Aquinas, who was nicknamed the Dumb Ox for his reticence and corpulence.

And yet Johnson may be on to something. There’s a mountain of evidence to suggest that religious belief and practice is associated with better than average levels of mental and physical wellbeing. Actively religious people tend to live longer and suffer lower levels of stress and depression.

Less conveniently for Johnson’s argument, the evidence on churchgoing and the specific issue of obesity presents a more mixed picture. Perhaps that’s because of all those bring-and-share church meals which, in my experience, are light on the salads. But if people of faith are as fat or fatter than the general population, that makes their generally higher level of health all the more interesting.

There are multiple explanations for this effect. Firstly, the encouragement taken from religious teachings. Secondly, the discouragement, or outright prohibition, of destructive behaviours such as substance abuse. Then there’s the role that places of worship play in fostering voluntary action and mutual aid. For instance, a 2021 study found that UK churchgoers are more likely to trust their neighbours and give to charity than non-churchgoers.

For policymakers, this is the most important factor. Government can’t do everything, which is why we need strong communities. And yet this is a time when social spaces are in deep trouble. Pubs are going to the wall and nightclubs are closing at such a rate that they’re forecast to go extinct by the end of the decade. Against expectations, churches may be among the last community institutions left standing — and given their measurably positive impact on wellbeing, it is vital that we hold on to them.

So despite his usual performance and provocation, Johnson is making a serious point and is absolutely right to sound the alarm. Overly progressive sermons are not exclusively to blame for the fall in church attendance, but it’s clear that current efforts to halt the decline are not working. The departure of Justin Welby is a chance to take a more muscular approach — one that leans into the vital links between spiritual, mental and physical health.

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Peter Franklin is Associate Editor of UnHerd. He was previously a policy advisor and speechwriter on environmental and social issues.

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