Should these measures become law, where will this leave the church? While the clergy aren’t obliged to endorse every parliamentary decision, the church is more closely bound to the nation’s political order than other denominations. Its foundation owed as much to Tudor politics as Reformation theology, its bishops sit in the upper legislative chamber, and historically the church has played a role in British public life that deliberately spans faith and politics.
This role expanded with missionary zeal alongside the British Empire and in some respects had a humanizing influence on its excesses. More recently, the church has continued to adjust in line with perceived mainstream British mores, decrying the historic empire and embracing the ordination of women, gender ideology and same-sex marriage.
But despite, or perhaps because of, such efforts to “modernize” doctrine, Church of England congregations have continued to dwindle and grow older. Church data show that 1.7% of Britons attend its services regularly, and the census finds that only 46% of U.K. citizens call themselves Christian.
Can an institution legitimately serve as an established church when 98% of its nation’s people rarely if ever attend its services? We might turn the question around: Can even so doctrinally adaptable an entity as the Church of England persist as established faith to a polity so indifferent to Christian precepts while preserving its capacity for Christian witness?
The Church of England has spent almost 500 years adroitly juggling faith and politics. But if last week’s abortion and euthanasia votes pass the Hpuse of Lords and become law, it might have to choose
— Mary Harrington (@moveincircles) June 27, 2025
Me at @WSJopinion https://t.co/5KdRiTpd2y