CofE Response to CORAB Report

This morning, the Church of England has issued the following response to report from Commission on Religion & Belief in British Public Life, (CORAB). Its Daily Digest for 7 December contains links to the media reporting of the report.

Response to report from Commission on Religion & Belief in British Public Life

07 December 2015

We welcome the call in this report for greater religious literacy and the highlighting of the scale of social action by the Church – as well as its recommendation that where a religious organisation is best placed to deliver a social good, it should not be disadvantaged.

“We also welcome the acknowledgement that the establishment of the Church of England has helped the integration of non-Christian perspectives in British society and helped them to make their voices heard in the public sphere. The Church of England, through its dioceses, parishes and at national level has been at the forefront of work to increase understanding between the different faiths.

“We are however disappointed that the report misunderstands the role of Church of England schools in providing a rounded education to more than a million pupils from all backgrounds as part of our commitment to the common good. If there is a significant problem with our schools it is that many of them are so popular that they are oversubscribed and not every parent who wants to can send their children to one.

“The report also misunderstands collective worship in schools. We believe that if the law on collective worship were repealed schools would risk losing this vital element of shaping a community that reflects the full breadth of human experience. We know, for example, that the response of many schools to the horror of the Paris attacks will have been in the context of collective worship.

“The report is dominated by the old fashioned view that traditional religion is declining in importance and that non-adherence to a religion is the same as humanism or secularism.

“In a fortnight where we have seen overwhelming public support for the Church of England over the Lord’s Prayer cinema advert, it is important to remember that most public opinion is strongly opposed to the marginalisation of Christianity.

ends

The CofE Press Release also includes the following links:

Blog by Nigel Genders, Church of England Chief Education Officer

Blog by Dr Malcolm Brown, Director of Mission & Public Affairs”

A copy of the 104-page report, Living with difference: community, diversity and the common good is available here, and the press release from the Commission, here.

Comment

A more detailed analysis in given in our post The CORAB report: Living with Difference.

Cite this article as: David Pocklington, "CofE Response to CORAB Report" in Law & Religion UK, 7 December 2015, https://lawandreligionuk.com/2015/12/07/cofe-reponse-to-corab-report/

2 thoughts on “CofE Response to CORAB Report

  1. The Church of England has responded to the Commission on Religion & Belief in British Public Life report which points out that half the population is prepared to state that it has no religious belief.

    Defending its privileges, it says amongst other things:-

    “The report is dominated by the old fashioned view that traditional religion is declining in importance and that non-adherence to a religion is the same as humanism or secularism”.

    So here is the rub, the C of E thinks that because most non-believers are not members of the NSS or the BHA they can be treated as crypto-Anglicans.

    I think the real “old fashioned view” is the C of E view that because most non-believers are not members of the NSS or the BHA they may be treated as crypto-Anglicans.

    The Cof E has comfortably assumed this “old fashioned” view for many years. It is what has helped the Church to ignore its precipitate loss of market share.
    If you give evidence in court (and I have) you are given a Bible. You have to be prepared to refuse to take it in your hand in order to get the bit of card which gives you the words of a secular affirmation.
    When folk say (and one did on TV yesterday) “but this is a Christian Country ” that is what they mean… everyone is a Christian unless they go out of their way to declare that they are not (either by words or by form of dress).

    The new fashioned view is that no assumption about citizens being of ANY religion should be made by people or organisations in Public Life – and the religion industry (mainly the C of E) is just going to have to get used to it.
    Alan Rogers

  2. Pingback: Commission on religion and belief in Britain seems to annoy secularists and faith communities alike | The Arbour

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