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IS the CHURCH of ENGLAND REALLY MOVING to the LEFT? 'For Heaven's Sake, Hands Off the Church of Was the Subject of Attack Because It Con- Bury St

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IS the CHURCH of ENGLAND REALLY MOVING to the LEFT? 'For Heaven's Sake, Hands Off the Church of Was the Subject of Attack Because It Con- Bury St 16 October 1982 Marxism Today Kenneth Leech IS THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND REALLY MOVING TO THE LEFT? 'For heaven's sake, hands off the Church of was the subject of attack because it con- Bury St. Edmunds, attacked some of the England!' cried an MP during the debates tained a new version of the national anthem bishops who had criticised her. 'Is it any on the revised Prayer Book of 1928. 'It's the in which 'Send her victorious' was replaced wonder that some of our cathedrals are only thing that stands between us and Chris- by 'Guard us in liberty'. In fact most of the empty if those who preach in them are so out tianity.' Today, according to the Daily critics failed to notice that the old version of touch with what large numbers of British Express, that church is involved in a 'drift to was published alongside it, and John Stokes, people are thinking and saying?'8 Two years socialism', and the danger of disestablish- Tory MP for Halesowen, complained, 'It is later The Guardian claimed that the Minis- ment therefore looms high.' In recent weeks typical of the trend among some bishops and try of Housing was trying to persuade Dr. the spate of writing, and of utterances from clergy. These people are ashamed of being Runcie 'to stop the Anglican Church's pub- Tory MPs, on the alleged left wing shift of born Englishmen and are full of guilt and lic criticism of the housing cuts." The the Church of England has reached at times want to water down everything they can.'5 strong opposition to the Nationality Bill bizarre proportions. What is the background In fact, the compilers of the book did not from both the House of Bishops and the to this extraordinary phase? come from the political Left, or even from General Synod was known to cause serious A series of unconnected incidents has the radical wing at all. Lord Cranborne, concern in Whitehall. Throughout the combined in recent weeks to induce an Tory MP for Dorset South, complained that period, some politicians were stating their almost unparalleled manifestation of fury the Church of England was now 'peopled by own view of the Church's role. It was prima- from those who have discerned a leftward buffoons, rather like social democrats." rily spiritual, said Patrick Jenkin, who went shift in the Church, or at least a widening A few days later, a report of a working on to express anxiety that the Church was gulf between the Church and the values and party on nuclear disarmament was leaked by now exerting political pressure over child policies of the present government. There poverty.'° Clifford Longley of The Times, was the Falkland Islands service, with the the danger of commenting on Mrs Thatcher, noted 'the debate which preceded it. It was well known gulf between her conception of the Church's disestablishment looms high 1 that there was a desire in government circles duty and their own." for a 'victory-service', and that many voices two papers, and the anger reached a new in the churches were hostile to this idea. In climax. Clergy should stick to 'souls and More political the event, the Church won. Denis Thatcher sin', advised John Stokes, and leave 'matters In fact, it is certainly true that during the was quoted as saying that 'the Boss' (the temporal' such as disarmament to parlia- 1970s the Church of England as an institu- Prime Minister, not God!) was 'hopping ment.7 The list of utterances provoked by tion, through its synods, boards and working mad' while another version spoke of her the various incidents is long, amusing and 2 parties took political issues with an increas- 'spitting blood'. revealing. Perhaps the most eccentric was an ing degree of seriousness and sophistication. The few days after the service on 26 July article by Tony Dawe in the Daily Express A simplistic interpretation of this sees it saw reports of violent attacks from the right on 17 August entitled 'The bishops rocking simply as a capitulation to 'trendiness' (an wing of the Tory Party. Sir John Biggs- the Church to its foundations' which umbrella term covering an enormous range Davison spoke of 'cringing clergy' who were claimed that concern with race, disarma- of views), to 'liberalism' and to the 'spirit of 'misusing' St. Paul's to call the war into ment and the Third World was replacing the age'. A more serious and informed question.3 Julian Amery called the service 'the Glory of God and his relevance to our approach will see it as a conscientious grap- disgraceful and complained specifically of lives', attacked Dr Runcie for preaching 'a pling with political realities, informed by the absence of martial hymns such as 'Fight sermon on the morals of war' instead of Christian theology and the study of the the good fight' and 'Onward Christian sol- 'thanking God for our victory' and spoke of available data. diers'." The Archbishop's sermon came 'allegations of a "Militant-Tendency"-style A recent study of The Church of England under heavy fire, because, while the first few take over of Church committees.' It ended and Politics12 has surveyed the Church's paragraphs contained a strong expression of with the warning that disestablishment political involvement in six areas — race and support for government policy, there was a might be the result of the 'Church's drift to community relations; men, women and sex; strong attack on the arms race, and criticism the left.' health and sickness; violence, peace and war; of those who wished to 'wheel up God to In fact, the unease among some Conserva- work, industry and prosperity; the political endorse some particular policy or attitude tives with the Church of England goes back process itself. There are other important rather than another'. some years. In recent years there had been areas where considerable expertise has been criticisms of government policy over immi- built up. While one should not exaggerate National anthem gration, child benefits, housing, nationality the changes, it is clear that the involvement Scarcely had the controversy died down than and a number of other issues. In 1978, after in political issues by the Church, nationally an innocuous hymn book, produced by a Mrs Thatcher's notorious TV interview and locally, is very considerable, and this is group of fairly conservative evangelicals, about immigration, Eldon Griffiths, MP for not seen as a kind of 'dabbling', or an alter- Marxism Today October 1982 17 significant variations in their attitudes from the prevailing attitude in the general public of the same class groups (A and B). For example, 78% of Synod members opposed more nationalisation while 85% of the gen- eral middle class public did so. But on the abolition of the death penalty, only 22% of the Synod were opposed, contrasted with 77% of the general public. 29%, as against 80% thought there were too many immi- grants.14 On the issues broadly construed as 'moral', (race, penal affairs, sexual ethics), members took a broadly 'left of centre' view; on more distinctly political and economic questions (nationalisation, wealth, invest- ments, and so on) they were distinctly more cautious and conservative. It is misleading then to speak simply of a 'drift to socialism' in the institutional Church, and more correct to speak of a broadly liberal perspective, certainly to the left of this Government. However, the evi- dence suggests that the Synod is consid- erably more radical than the Church at the local level, especially in the suburbs where the Daily Telegraph is likely to be the news- paper of the average, committed Anglican layperson. It is also possible that the clergy in many areas are more inclined to take a 'leftish' stance than the laypeople, but the pattern is too varied and complex for easy generalisations. Anglican Left There is, of course, a strong, committed and vigorous left wing movement within the 3 Church of England. It has been there for 1 over a century. The history of the Anglican native to religion, but a direct result of tak- the WCC had done in its entire history. Left is a fascinating study. It includes the ing Christian faith seriously. Guild of St Matthew, formed in Bethnal It is, of course, impossible to make sense of Class composition Green in 1877, the first explicitly socialist the 'radicalisation' (if that is what it is) of the The Church of England cannot therefore be group in England; the explicitly Marxist Church of England without seeing it as part seen in isolation from these developments. group, the Catholic Crusade, which gath- of a worldwide shift in the Christian world. In some way it is less radical than other parts ered around Conrad Noel at Thaxted For the Roman Catholic Church, the 2nd of the Anglican communion. Unlike most between 1918-36; the Society of Socialist Vatican Council, the 3rd Synod of Bishops Anglican churches, it is established. It is also Clergy and Ministers, of which the late (1971) and the years of Popes John XXIII the only part of the Anglican communion in Hewlett Johnson and Canon Stanley Evans and Paul VI were a period of major devel- which the bulk of the membership is lapsed. were leading members. For a period from opment. Gregory Baum has said that in this Thus the Episcopal Church in the USA the beginning of the 20th century to the period 'the Catholic Church's official posi- contains only about 2% of the population death of Archbishop Temple in 1944, social- tion has shifted to the left."3 The involve- but is very wealthy and influential.
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