Sir Brian Souter, the founding father of Stagecoach and Megabus, has spoken candidly in regards to the role of Christian faith in business and his view that Britain’s increasingly secular culture could also be giving rise to a renewed and more authentic type of Christianity.
Speaking in a recent episode of Heartbeat, a programme by the pro-life charity SPUC exploring faith and society, the Scottish businessman reflected on his decades-long experience of being a committed Christian while leading certainly one of the UK’s largest transport corporations.
Unlike many senior figures in finance and commerce, Sir Brian has never concealed his religious beliefs, even when doing so attracted criticism and controversy.
He said that working in business, reasonably than public-sector institutions, allowed greater freedom to precise personal convictions and that he tried as much as possible to model Christ in his on a regular basis life.
“What I’ve tried to do is … live out my faith daily,” he said.
“I fail at that sometimes, but you already know, I’ve got an ideal example in Jesus Christ.
“That’s why I’m at all times going to fail, probably because He is the proper example. But I need to attempt to emulate Him as much as I can in how I conduct myself every day.”
He credited this approach with shaping workplace culture during his time at Stagecoach, whose workforce at one time numbered 38,000.
Sir Brian stood down from his role within the Stagecoach Group in 2022 and now concentrates on other industrial ventures alongside philanthropic work through the Souter Trust, which provides assistance to charities and individuals across a spread of causes.
Reflecting on wider cultural change, Sir Brian argued that Britain has moved beyond what he described as “institutionalised Christianity” — a shift he believes may ultimately be positive.
“I don’t imagine we are going to [go back to institutionalised Christianity], and I believe that’s a very good thing because I believe a part of the issue was institutionalised Christianity,” he said, suggesting that faith had turn out to be overly related to rules reasonably than with the person of Christ.
He pointed to growth inside charismatic, Black-majority and independent churches as evidence that Christianity just isn’t disappearing but changing form.
In his view, a latest generation is increasingly drawn to a faith that’s less institutional and more centred on Jesus himself.
He remarked: “We forgot that our greatest asset is our role model and our unique selling proposition is our redeemer because that is where the dynamism and the ability in Christianity comes from. So, for me, I actually think what’s happened is de facto exciting just now. And I believe we’re seeing a rebirth of real Christianity, you already know, really Christ focused.”
Sir Brian also highlighted what he described as notable trends amongst younger adults, particularly men, including increased church attendance, rising Bible sales and a growing scepticism toward what he termed “woke culture”.
He suggested this reflected dissatisfaction with secular humanism and a seek for meaning beyond materialism.
The Scottish businessman expressed deep concern over recent political developments regarding abortion law in each Westminster and Holyrood.
He described proposals to further decriminalise abortion as “horrific”, arguing that they risk erasing moral boundaries around human life.
Sir Brian claimed there was little public appetite for such changes, citing polling that suggested widespread unease about late-term abortions.
He also criticised the continued use of at-home abortion pills introduced in the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, raising concerns about medical complications and the shortage of public scrutiny.
“Are we just blind to that as a society or is it an issue of our media don’t give us this kind of data?” he highlighted.
Sir Brian also spoke out strongly against proposals to legalise assisted suicide, warning that international experience showed such laws are likely to expand beyond their original scope.
He argued that improved funding for palliative and hospice care, reasonably than assisted suicide, needs to be the priority.
Drawing on personal experiences of losing friends and members of the family who received high-quality end-of-life care, he said suffering could often be managed without intentionally ending life.
He also raised concerns about conscience protections for medical professionals, warning that some palliative care specialists might leave the career if required to take part in or refer patients for assisted suicide.
Quoting from Psalm 139, he went on to say: “Life has significance and what happens in life determines where we will spend eternity … Life is sacred. It is special. It is critical. It is ordained by God.
“And so, I don’t think that we should always be intervening either firstly of that or at the tip of that,” he said, adding that while difficult medical decisions are sometimes unavoidable, deliberate killing crosses an ethical line.
Despite cultural shifts, Sir Brian expressed optimism in regards to the way forward for Christianity in Britain.
He encouraged Christians to be more confident and open about their beliefs, particularly when engaging with public institutions and political leaders.
He described speaking openly about faith during meetings with senior political figures and philanthropists, saying that direct references to belief within the risen Christ were often received with more openness than expected.
He said: “There is power within the name of Jesus … Why are we holding back about expressing what we imagine? Because that is the truth of it. That’s what makes us different. That’s how we’re making a difference on this planet … I think that folks are more responsive now than they’ve been at any time in my lifetime.
“We’ve tried atheism, we have tried humanism, we have tried nothingness. Now it is time for something,” he said.
Sir Brian stays a backer of initiatives just like the National Prayer Breakfast, which goals to foster dialogue between Christians and individuals in public life.
 Sir Brian Souter, the founding father of Stagecoach and Megabus, has spoken candidly in regards to the role of Christian faith...){kind=link}