The General Synod of the Church of England will be debating action against secularism and atheism in the UK in a paper to be presented to the General Synod this afternoon by the Rt Revd David Urquhart, the Bishop of Birmingham, and supported by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The British Humanist Association (BHA) has reaffirmed its call for the Church of England to be disestablished.
BHA Head of Public Affairs Naomi Phillips commented, ‘In the face of shrinking church populations and annual increases in the number of non-religious people, it is no surprise that the Church of England should want to counter these trends – it would not be in its interests to ignore them. However, the Church of England is far from being a private, civil society organisation like other religious groups in this country, free to lobby and organise as they wish. The Church of England has a constitutional role through its establishment, disproportionate influence over public policy, and runs a third of state-maintained schools. The paper itself is being presented to the General Synod by a Bishop who has a reserved place to sit, speak and vote in our parliament, like 25 of his colleagues.
‘This is a tension at the heart of the Church of England which demands resolution. The Church of England wishes – as a church – to promote Christianity and of course it should be free to do so, but it should not be privileged in doing so, and it is not legitimate for it to enlist our shared and publicly-funded schools, social services and our parliament in its evangelistic task.’
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For further comment or information, contact Naomi Phillips on 020 7079 3585.
Read the paper to be presented to the Church of England General Synod ‘Challenges for the New Quinquennium: A report from the House of Bishops and the Archbishops’ Council’.
Read more about the BHA’s work on constitutional reform.
Read about religion and belief – surveys and statistics.
The British Humanist Association (BHA) is the national charity representing and supporting the non-religious and campaigning for an end to religious privilege and discrimination. It is the largest organisation in the UK campaigning for a secular state.