The Advantages of a Weak Established Church - PowerPoint Presentation

1. The Advantages of a Weak Established ChurchGrace DavieUniversity of Exeter

2. The argument in outlineLong-term thinking about religion in EuropeMore recent promptsThe context in which we find ourselvesculturalinstitutionalThe consequences for ‘establishment’

3. Religion in EuropeSeveral decades of research and writing in this fieldAn expanding canvasLiverpool (FiTC); Britain; Europe from within; Europe from without; the US; global perspectivesA distinctive pattern emerges (see below)what religion in Europe is; what religion in Europe is notpaying attention to absence as well as presence

4. More recent promptsSeptember 2017Protestantismes, Convictions & Engagements500 ans de RéformeMarie de ParisNovember 2018After Brexit: European Unity and the Unity of the European ChurchesLambeth Palace

5. The context in which we find ourselves

6. The factors to take into account1. Cultural heritage (time and space)2. The historic churches (a public utility)3. A shift from obligation to consumption (a market)4. New arrivals (increasing diversity)5. Secular reactions

7. Is Europe an exceptional case?What Europe is not?it is not a vibrant religious market as is found in the US it is not a part of the world where Christianity is growing exponentially, often in Pentecostal formsit is not a part of the world dominated by faiths other than Christian, but is increasingly penetrated by these it is not for the most part subject to the violence often associated with religion and religious difference in other parts of the globe – the more so if religion becomes entangled in political conflict

8. The implications for BritainBest summarized as ‘a persistent paradox’Hence the subtitle of my 2015 book

9. A continuing/remorseless process of secularization bringing with it a worrying loss of religious literacy The increasing salience of religion in public as well as private debate, a tendency encouraged by:increasing diversity at home andthe ever more obvious presence of religion in the modern worldA challenging combination, that occurs right across Europe but is differently engaged in different placesSpecifically

10. The consequences for establishmentThe English case

11. Religious affiliation by year of birth (five year cohorts) Source: British Social Attitudes surveys 1983-2011, pooled (Siobhan McAndrew, British Religion in Numbers)

12. Revisiting the Church of EnglandDoes it still have a role to play in 21st century Britain?The difference between a strong and a weak established churchThe advantages of a weak established church in the management of pluralismin sustaining a constructive conversation about faith at the centre of British (more properly English) society, noting that most religious minorities – as opposed to secularists – are, very largely, supportive of the Church in question

13. A distinctive pastFour religious cultures in the UKThe particular nature of the English ReformationA limited monopoly – a ‘state church partially counterbalanced by a substantial bloc of dissent dispersed in the population at large’ (Martin 1978: 20) The Church of England – both Catholic (in structure) and Reformed (in theology)A via media – an essentially English church designed to meet the needs of the English peoplestill true?

14. A comparative perspectiveWhat Britain/ England is not?France versus Britain; democracy versus toleranceStrong state churchesWorrying tendencies in Poland and Hungary – a shift seen even more clearly in the Orthodox world (Russia and Serbia)‘Conservative ecumenism’

15. Democracy and tolerance 1France is markedly more democratic than Britain: in terms of its Republican ideals, its elected second chamber, and its developed laïcitéthe absence of religion in the public sphereBritain in contrast has retained its monarchy, its unelected second chamber, and its established churchParadoxically, however, Britain is – or has been until very recently – noticeably more tolerant than France.

16. Democracy and tolerance 2It is, moreover, the apparently ‘undemocratic’ institutions outlined in the previous slide that are of particular importance in underpinning tolerancein the sense of sustaining a relatively secure place for religious minorities in British societyThe three institutions will be taken in turn – noting however that the arguments are necessarily interlinked

17. The monarchyThe monarch as Supreme Governor of the Church of England – but in addition – Head of the Commonwealthimplications of the former (see below)implications of the latterThe Queen (and Prince Charles) know at first hand the very varied nations that make up the Commonwealth – and thus the religious cultures from which many of our migrants comehence their well-informed, and highly-respected, support of interfaith activity

18. The House of LordsDifficult to describe and even harder to justifyHeavily weighted in favour of the established church – a situation that is difficult to defend given the declining numbers of Anglicans in British (English) societyThat said, the quality of debate in the House of Lords is frequently higher than it is in the House of Commons a forum in which the voices of religious minorities are present (for example the former Chief Rabbi – a highly respected public intellectual)

19. The Church of England 1Affirming the advantages of a weak established churchThe following statement made by the Queen at a multi-faith reception (2012). Speaking of the Church of England, she says:‘Its role is not to defend Anglicanism to the exclusion of other religions. Instead, the Church has a duty to protect the free practice of all faiths in this country.

20. The Church of England 2It certainly provides an identity and spiritual dimension for its own many adherents. But also, gently and assuredly, the Church of England has created an environment for other faith communities and indeed people of no faith to live freely. Woven into the fabric of this country, the Church has helped to build a better society – more and more in active co-operation for the common good with those of other faiths.’See https://www.royal.uk/queens-speech-lambeth-palace-15-february-2012

21. The Church of England 3How long can this delicate arrangement last?Difficult to say, but in the meantime, be clear that in the continuing debates surrounding establishment, it is seldom the other faith communities that argue for the separation on church and stateIt is rather a growing, and and at times vocal, secular lobby which argues for the exclusion of faith and faith communities of all kinds from public life – as in France

22. French parallelsAn aside on President Macron’s visit to the the French Bishops’ Conference (CEF) at the Collège des Bernardins in Paris (April 2018)the first time a head of State in France had accepted such an invitationExtreme reactions on both sidesMore constructive is to grasp the need for the French Catholic Church to discover its rightful place in an increasingly pluralist societyno longer hegemonic, it still has much to give in the form of penetrating questions rather than definitive answersfaith cannot be totally privatized

23. The seductions of a strong state churchRight wing/ nationalist politicians appropriate Christian valuesThe use of such values to set an agenda, including the exclusion of minoritiesThe state church in question runs the risk of becoming excluding and exclusiveThe Polish and Hungarian cases; Orthodox examples

24. Conservative ecumenismA new idea reflecting what are sometimes seen as ‘European culture wars’traditionally an American term to describe an American situationIn the last decade or so, the culture wars appear to have also taken root in Europe, with Russia becoming a principal champion: arguing for traditional values over and against liberal democracy and human rights - a traditionalist family agenda - hostility to in-migration and minorities/ rising nationalism

25. In conclusion

26. A personal viewThe maintenance of a tolerant and pluralist society is enhanced rather than undermined by an established churchan historically privileged but numerically eroded institution is uniquely placed to do thisThe aftermath of the 2016 referendum – a cautionary tale.It is one thing to decide by a narrow majority to leave the EU; it is quite another to find a way forward acceptable to all parties might the same things happen in the case of disestablishment?

27. Democracy and tolerance 3I am frequently asked whether I ‘prefer’ the French or the British caseThis is the ‘wrong’ questionThe current situation in each country derives from a specific and non-transferable historyEach society should strive to understand this history better in order to become a more ‘complete’ (or better) version of itselfthe place of the established church in this process