Church And State Should Be Separate Because Britain Is No Longer A Christian Country, Says Report
by Ruth Gledhill, Christian Today:
The Church of England’s position as the established church with the Queen as Supreme Governor is “no longer tenable” and needs a rethink, according to a report today.
As churchgoing and belief in God continues to decline, the public role of religion in Britain needs “significant reform” says the new report from the National Secular Society.
Its main demand is that the Church of England should no longer enjoy the patronage of the state.
The report notes that the Church of England is established only in England, not Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. The Church of Scotland is the national church in Scotland but has few privileges comparable to those of the Church of England.
“One of the greatest privileges of the Church of England is the 26 bishops from English dioceses with ex officio seats in the UK Parliament, which gives them significant power to introduce and amend UK-wide legislation,” the report says. “The UK parliament is the only one in the world where bishops have such seat
“Other significant privileges include the Church’s currently pre-eminent role in national ceremonies, especially the coronation, and the monarch being the Supreme Governor of the Church, over whose liturgy and regulation Parliament has nominal control.”
The National Secular Society says this privileged status fails to reflect society as it is today and leads to inequity and unfairness.
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