England's Church

The Archbishop of Canterbury has said separating the Church from the state would not be "the end of the world". Dr Rowan Williams said there would be benefits in the disestablishment of the Church of England. There was a "certain integrity" in decisions made by the Church not having to be "nodded through by Parliament afterwards". But he rejected the idea of a disestablished Church in England in the near future.


Establishment of the Church of England - with the Queen at its head and the prime minister responsible for senior appointments - gives it special influence denied to other Churches but it also means laws passed by its governing synod have to be confirmed by Parliament.

Dr Williams, a former Archbishop of Wales, where the Church is disestablished, said: "I can see that it's by no means the end of the world if the establishment disappears. "The strength of it is that the last vestiges of state sanction disappeared, so when you took a vote at the Welsh synod, it didn't have to be nodded through by Parliament afterwards. There is a certain integrity to that."
He said he would oppose disestablishment if it was motivated by secularists "trying to push religion into the private sphere".

"I believe the Church exists because of God, not because of the state," he said.
"At the moment the Church of England is in its established position, a helpful umbrella for other faith organisations, a foot in the door of secular society, and I'd be very loathe to lose that.
"I think society would lose from it as well."

Church of England said: "The government has repeatedly stressed the value it places on the establishment of the Church of England as something valued by people of all faiths and none.
"The Church is honoured to perform this service to the nation, which embraces a wide range of aspects - from the parish system and bishops in the House of Lords, to church schools and helping the nation mark important events."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7789192.stm

http://anglosaxonanglicans.org/origins/cofe.htm

http://www.anglican.org/index.html


http://www.bridgnorth-anglican.org/