How can the Church of England retain its special place in English life? Will the church remain established by law? The Church of England can move forward only after it has answered these important questions, this essay says. Since the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century, and aside from a brief period in the seventeenth century, the Church of England has always been the state church. Its representatives conduct many solemn public ceremonies especially those connected to military commemorations. The church is often present at royal ceremonies also. It provides chaplains to public institutions such as hospitals and schools. Those people who defend continued church establishment usually acknowledge that only a small minority of English persons attend the Church of England’s services on an average Sunday, but these defenders say, the church’s tolerance is its special contribution to English life. That tolerance permeates English society, bringing a peaceful tone and good public order. This benefits all, even those of other religions or of none, the defenders say. This argument has merit, but is tolerance enough to support an argument for continued establishment? Based on tolerance, the argument for establishment resembles the case made by Roman writers for the Roman state’s establishment of pagan sects. That Roman argument was not compatible with the fervor of Christian believers. Their fervor is still incompatible with some discourse about toleration today. All this makes necessary a fuller discussion of English church establishment. This essay contributes to that fuller discussion.
Keywords: Church of England, church organization, Anglicanism, English society in the 21st century
DOI: 10.22250/20728662_2022_3_12
About the author
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John A. Taylor – Ph.D. (History), Associate Professor, Department of Theory and Methodology for Teaching Arts and Humanities, |