Disestablishment on the radar screen again

The controversy after the Archbishop of Canterbury’s “sharia speech” has become a discussion over the status of the Church of England itself and the question of disestablishement seems to be on the radar screen.

The Economist editorializes that ‘religions should have a smaller official role in England, not a greater one.’

…the archbishop proposes to expand the privileges of all religions. It would be better instead to curtail the entitlements of his one. It makes no sense in a pluralistic society to give one church special status. Nor does it make sense, in a largely secular country, to give special status to all faiths. The point of democracies is that the public arena is open to all groups—religious, humanist or football fans. The quality of the argument, not the quality of the access to power, is what matters. And citizens, not theocrats, choose.

Ekklesia writes:

Pressures from several directions are putting the disestablishment of the Church of England back on the agenda, say reports following the General Synod and concerns about the long term impact of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Sharia speech.

A survey of the Church’s governing body found up to 63 per cent of members now believe the Church will be disestablished within a generation, says the Sunday Telegraph.

Labour MPs recently tabled a parliamentary Early Day Motion on the subject, a Home Office report some months back is reported to have expressed concern over the impact of Establishment on other sections of society, and there were some calls for the cutting of the Church-Crown link following the row about Dr Williams’ comments on religious and civil law.

Now the Sunday Telegraph newspaper claims that senior Anglican bishops now fear that the Church of England’s special link with the state is under threat following moves to end the prime minister’s involvement in key clerical appointments.

Read: The Economist: Church and state- Sever them.

Also: Ekklesia: Disestablishment may be back on the agenda as church feels pressure.

HT to Thinking Anglicans. Firestorm: The Economist weighs in.

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