The Church of England Just Wants to Be Liked
by Ben Sixsmith, The American Conservative:
[…] Anglicanism faces steep demographic decline in Britain. Only 15 percent of Britons, and only 2 percent of Britons aged between 18 and 24, are affiliated with the Church of England. Fewer than a million British men, women, and children typically attend church services. Britain, then, quite probably contains more practicing Muslims than practicing Christians.
Dame Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of Crediton, has optimistically suggested that Anglicans should not be concerned because people can encounter God “through church or youth groups or…social media.” It is a nice thought but I am unaware of a steep rise in attendance among church and youth groups, and rarely see religious content jostling for prominence with the baby pictures, stale memes, and holiday snaps on Facebook. Mullally’s comments, it seems to me, are indicative of a dangerous temptation to stretch the meaning of the word “religious” so far as to make it, well, meaningless.
Radical action is needed to secure the continued existence of the Church. Instead the Church has reacted with desperate attempts to be liked. Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has spent much of his time campaigning against the gig economy. One can oppose or applaud his sentiments regarding “economic justice,” but it is the Church of England’s recent laser-like attention to this matter that is curious. If Christ descended from the heavens, I am sure he would have strong words regarding corporate greed—he was not, after all, famous for his friendliness towards merchants—but I am equally convinced that he would be startled by the Church’s avoidance of matters like fatherlessness and abortion. The Anglican hierarchy seems frightened of conforming to popular stereotypes regarding stern, officious, socially conservative churchmen.
This is not just a moral failing but a tactical mistake. The Church is simply not going to win followers without being controversial, and without distinguishing itself as an institution. Economic leftism alone makes it nothing more than a becassocked wing of the Labour Party, likeable, perhaps, but irrelevant.
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