Even Prince William doesn’t attend church – it’s time for a new Reformation | Simon Jenkins
R.The National Church was “England” This week meeting In London, he is in a state of turmoil. Does it matter, unlike 1.7 % of The residents of England who are still worshiping under their roofs? since England Church It continues with the role of “fixed” in the life of the nation, the answer is yes.
The argument within c On protection It seems endless. I brought The fall of the head of bishops And anger Succeed. The church is divided on how to misuse the police in the future, whether through an independent agency or through internal discipline. This, in turn, reflects whether he sees himself as a decent institution for the state or just another religious sect.
The Church has long turned from being the first to the latter, and this is reflected in its decision to choose internal discipline mainly. This is exactly the reason why there is no better opportunity to recognize this transformation. One of the institutional church, despite all its historical glory, is still arranging as a “fixed” drug for the world.
However, in 2023, this church took its duty from the new President of Britain. I did it in Current great magnificence But for most people, it was incomprehensible rituals. Right, clothes and sacred oils can also be managed in Stonenig. Where hereditary kings around Europe live, such celebrations are truly secular. The heir of the British throne, Prince William, is It is known that it is not available. It would definitely be better to change all this before coronation. The issue of the new reform is overwhelming. Where is the radical government ready to start it?
Return statistics are now familiar. The average number of weekly church men is just over one million in 2009. By 2023, it was About a third of To 693,000. Less than half of the British A claim that he believes in God, from three quarters in 1981, while 37 % expressly confirm “no religion”. Churches in big cities such as Manchester have suffered badly since Covid-19, More than half a loss From ordinary worshipers since 1990. The number of worshipers in Bath and Wales has decreased by 60 % at the time. There is now More Muslims practicing In Britain of the Anglics.
The exhausting hierarchical sequence of the church should lie in the root of many of its diseases. It is like a royal navy More Admiral from warships. There are now 108 bishops, with varying degrees of seniority, scattered across 42 diocese, with bureaucrats that the other sect seems to need. Nevertheless, it closed about 3,500 churches in the past decade. The “preservation of our diocese” hall fights every closure, but there is no point. An empty church is still empty.
Nothing of this need for a broader audience had it not been for one fact: the parish churches are not just places for Christian worship. It is the biggest monument – and is usually more beautiful – dominates the heart of almost every village and city in Britain. The National Church of the nation may not be concerned, but the local church is prominent in the center of almost every society. It represents history, ceremony, cultural activity, and a lot of charitable well -being. Everyone knows their church, even if you pay a few for that. The accumulated responsibility of C from E from E at more than one billion pounds, with 900 in the historical heritage record in England at risk.
It is simply unrealistic that these glorious buildings rely on small groups of the elderly of most of them to care and pay for them. Local churches, especially those that are not used in one way or another, must be transferred to their local societies, as happens throughout Europe, or they will go to castles in the Middle Ages. sooner or later It will collapse And die.
This is why getting rid of the National Church is not enough. Indeed, an active element within the Anglican community is almost the new player: the home church and the movements it leads. These groups are unofficial, sometimes evangelical, and groups are usually under ordinary preachers in each other’s homes or anywhere else. Some mimic Unresponsive movements From the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and the creation of “autonomous” churches compared to skeptics with unknown alcoholic addicts. This moves outside the Anglican hierarchy.
This will not do anything to save the church buildings. Among the pulses at least find new uses, such as heerfordshire “ShoppingOr Pilates Centers in Oxfordshire or Post office, cafe and soft gameplay In London West Hampsted. They have become libraries, gyms, performance spaces, cafeterias and food banks. Some return to the places of meditation and luxury. Whatever it might be, such as the sports center and museums, they must become the responsibility of local funds or diocese councils and the city, with principle taxes to support maintenance.
Great Britain can deal with state affairs without an official church. The regions are less happy. As the high streets approach and the bars are closed, they face a large Turkish with a large empty and dark building in their heart. You should return to what it was before: concentration of group activity. With the outbreak of the Church of England at the national level, its churches must become “re -established” locally.
