Church and State in England: A Fragile Establishment

Abstract

Of the 38 member Churches of the Anglican Communion, the Church of England stands out as the only Church which is formally established. Beyond the confines of the Anglican Communion, at least in liberal democracies, the number of established Churches is not great. Even in Scandinavia things have begun to change with the disestablishment of the Swedish Church in the year 2000.¹ In most of Catholic Europe, Churches have long been disestablished, even though in some places they still enjoy many privileges. It is even more striking that England retains an established Church since its levels of religious practice and belonging are among the lowest in the Christian world. Usual Sunday attendance in the Church of England has halved from 1.6 million in 1968 to less than 800,000 in 2013 in a population of about 54 million. Baptismal rates have fallen to less than 12 % of live births, and in some parts of the country, especially in London and the Southeast, rates are well under 10 %. Congregations are aging and religious practice has sunk to very low level among people under 30.² The situation in England is very different from some other countries which retain an established Church and where Church attendance is very low, as, for instance, in Denmark. Unlike England, nominal Christianity is still strong in Denmark which still has a Church membership of about 80 % of the population and where approximately 75 % of babies were baptized in 2013.³