As the Church of England’s elders go into battle over women bishops and homosexuality, Neil Tweedie assesses the mood in the parishes In England,” wrote Auberon Waugh, “we have a curious institution called the Church of England. Its strength has always lain in the fact that on any moral or political issue it can produce such a wide divergence of opinion that nobody – from the Pope to Mao Tse-tung – can say with any confidence that he is not an Anglican. Its weaknesses are that nobody pays much attention to it, and very few people attend its functions.” Many Anglicans would be happy with Waugh’s estimate. Fudge, muddle and pragmatism are hallmarks of the institution created by Henry VIII to finesse his marital difficulties. In modern times, the C of E has been regarded either as a cosy spiritual home for the upper classes,...
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