The Church of England finds itself colliding with society at large on
regular occasion. Has the time come, therefore, where the advantages of
being the established church are at last outweighed by the
disadvantages? Is there a case for disestablishment, and if so, what
might a fresh vision of the church’s relationship with wider society be?↵
↵
Separating
the question of establishment, from the question of presence in the
community, Chaplin argues that the time has come for the ending of
privileged constitutional ties between the Church of England the British
state. Rather than offering a smaller place for the Church of England
within society, he suggests, such a separation would in fact enhance its
ability to maintain an embedded presence in local parishes, and allow
it the room to speak out about the deeper, bigger challenges which face
society today.
Jonathan Chaplin
is a leading Anglican ethicist and a member of the divinity faculty at
Cambridge University. He is a former director of the Kirby Laing
Institute for Christian Ethics.