PopCon's Head of Campaigns, Andrew Allison, explains why the Church of England is a failing institution. "It has lost sight of its purpose; its raison d'être. Until it finds it again, it is doomed to be an even bigger irrelevance than it is now. The new Archbishop of Canterbury, whoever he or she may be, has a huge task on their hands."

Long drawn-out political resignations are always tiresome. We know that the minister will have to resign. It is only a matter of time. And then the inevitable happens. The same can be said about Justin Welby. It was only a matter of time. He is the first Archbishop of Canterbury in history (and I checked this with Dr David Starkey) to be forced to resign. 

(Becket was murdered. Cranmer and Laud were executed. I am not including them, although it can be said that they were forced out of office!)  

The search to find Welby’s replacement will begin soon. 

A few years ago I stood for election to the General Synod of the Church of England. I knew that I didn’t stand a chance of being elected, though. As someone whose politics is to the right, I am beyond the pale: persona non grata, but it was an interesting exercise in finding out how the process works.  

At the end of the online hustings, candidates were asked what we thought the biggest challenge was facing the church over the next five years. I knew what my answer would be. The parish system which has served the church well for centuries is under threat thanks to Welby and latterly Stephen Cottrell who became Archbishop of York in 2020. The biggest challenge we face is preventing this dismantling, strengthening the parish system and building congregations.  

One lady told us that the biggest challenge facing the Church of England was climate change. She then spoke for two minutes about why she and her husband decided to have only one child and the work she is doing to make her church sustainable. Nothing about saving souls. Nothing about building congregations. Nothing about Christianity whatsoever. She was, of course, elected.  

The Church of England is a failing institution. It can be argued that it has been failing for many years – if not decades – but under Justin Welby’s leadership it took a huge nosedive. It has become an extension of the Labour Party with a few Greens and Lib Dems thrown in for good measure. It sees its mission as opposing Conservatism.   

If, like me, you are a Conservative, most of the hierarchy in the Church of England feel that you cannot be a Christian. In doing so, they completely misunderstand the Gospel.  

Jesus charged us with looking after the poor. Us. We can do this as individuals, families, communities and by supporting charities. But it is down to us to act. What Jesus did not instruct us to do was sub-contract the care of those less fortunate than ourselves to government.  

A few years ago, a priest friend of mine complained that he felt his church had been forced into opening a food bank. I told him that that was his Christian duty to care for the poor. I also reminded him that some people are not good at managing their finances and perhaps he could help them do that better, too. He didn’t have an answer because he knew that I was right. Not that that makes any difference. All most church leaders are interested in is jumping on the latest left-wing bandwagon to signal their virtue.   

Take slavery. We know that Britain was the first major country in the world to abolish slavery - not just in our own country, but throughout the British Empire. Sailors in the Royal Navy paid with their blood enforcing the law. Slavery has been around since time immemorial. It was not a uniquely British thing.  

Yet under Welby’s leadership, the Church of England’s Commissioners has managed to find £100 million down the back of the sofa to address the church’s historic links to slavery - money which could be used to help pay for the cost of maintaining some of the country’s finest buildings and providing parish priests. And what about the living victims of child abuse? Are they less deserving of £100m - if it’s going spare - than the great, great (x8) grandchildren of slaves the church did not enslave? These are political decisions. 

That is why the Church of England is failing. It has lost sight of its purpose; its raison d'être. Until it finds it again, it is doomed to be an even bigger irrelevance than it is now. The new Archbishop of Canterbury, whoever he or she may be, has a huge task on their hands.