Today, Orthodox and Oriental Christians are celebrating Easter Sunday.

Primates Meeting, Rome

The Anglican Communion has posted a Communiqué following the Primates’ Meeting 2024 in Rome between April 26 and May 3, hosted by the Anglican Centre in Rome. Primates considered a draft paper of the Inter Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order (IASCUFO) concerning questions of structure and decision-making in the Anglican Communion, which the Anglican Consultative Council commissioned at its meeting in 2023.

Two proposals of the paper suggested ways forward for the Communion. The first concerned the description of the nature of the Anglican Communion. The classic, description proposed by the Lambeth Conference of 1930 (resolution 49) “still captures the spirit of Anglican longing for full visible unity”. However, in view of the changes to the Instruments of Communion since 1930 and the continuing call to seek full communion one with another, it was agreed with IASCUFO that an updated description would be helpful. The Primates’ Meeting anticipated a continuing conversation with IASCUFO about its proposed recasting of the 1930 statement, in advance of the next meeting of the ACC.

The second proposal addressed the prospect of an elected primate who might serve alongside the Archbishop of Canterbury and the other Instruments of Communion as chair of the Primates’ Meeting, and potentially as president of the Anglican Consultative Council. Archbishop Welby chose not to attend the session, the better to encourage a comfortable exchange of views.

Although this second proposal was not supported, the participants began to discuss ways of assisting and broadening aspects of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s ministry in the Communion, including through the Regional Primates who form the Primates’ Standing Committee.

Religious education and collective worship in Northern Ireland

The week saw an important judgment by the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal, JR87, Application for Judicial Review [2024] NICA 34, in which it upheld the legality both of RE and of collective worship. It did so on the basis the parents have an absolute right to withdraw their children from either or both of them: we noted the judgment here. However, in doing so it held that the finding of Colton J in the lower court that “the curriculum is not conveyed in an objective, critical and pluralistic manner should remain undisturbed” [92].

Unsurprisingly, the judgment has proved very controversial. It has been heavily criticised by the National Secular Society, while the Christian Institute suggests that common sense has prevailed. For our part, we cannot help wondering whether a syllabus in such a sensitive area that is not “objective, critical and pluralistic” is worth teaching at all, while Russell Sandberg is “unconvinced that parental opt-outs are the best approach” and notes that in Wales, the opt-out to religious education has been removed.

In addition to our own note, Gillian O’Hanlon of Irish Legal News has noted the case here. On the UK Human Rights Blog, Catherine Churchill reports that the claimant intends to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Tynwald and the Bishop’s vote

The Isle of Man Constitution Bill 2023 is a private Member’s bill introduced in the House of Keys by Lawrie Cooper MHK on 28 November 2023. If enacted, it will remove the Bishop of Sodor and Man’s right to vote (though not to sit) in the Legislative Council and Tynwald Court.

The Bill was the subject of an online public consultation, the results of which were announced in March. There were 2,934 responses: 51 per cent in favour of removing the Bishop’s vote and 49 per cent in favour of retaining it. The Bill was read the third time in the Keys on 30 April and has been set down for first reading in the Legislative Council on 11 June.

Counting Religion in Britain, April 2024

Counting Religion in Britain, No 103, April 2024 features eleven short articles on new sources of British religious statistics. Relevant extracts are listed below:

OPINION POLLS

• Fixing the date for Easter: YouGov poll of preferences among the British public.
• Attitudes to assisted dying in Scotland: Opinium Research poll for Dignity in Dying.
• Would you consider having your fortune told?

FAITH ORGANIZATION STUDIES

• Launch of ‘The Church-24 Survey’ by York St John University.
• Two new outputs from the National Jewish Identity Survey, 2022.
• British Muslim charitable giving: insights from Blue State.

ACADEMIC STUDIES

• Round-up of three recent academic publications.