Should the Church and State be Separated in the United Kingdom?

When you think of the United Kingdom, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Tea, fish and chips, or bangers and mash? Not, perhaps, the Church of England. However, the British State and the Church of England are deeply linked. The Monarch of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is head of Church as well as head of State, a union which many people, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, oppose. The monarch, by law, must be Anglican, as do all the children of the monarch. In addition, Britain is one of only two countries to have reserved places in government for unelected clerics, the other being Iran. It also may surprise you to note that in state schools in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, it is mandatory that there is an act of worship daily that is of ‘wholly or mainly of a Christian character’, which in a Modern Britain seems like a defunct practice. I am for the separation of Church and State in the United Kingdom, because the Monarchy should be a figurehead of the British people, and represent us fairly, not just a representation of the 14% of the population that identify as Church of England. By separation of Church and State, I propose that the Queen would no longer be Head of the Church of England, and the Royal Family would be free to practice their religion of choice in private. The position of the Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords would instead be filled by appointed members of different religions, such as Roman Catholic bishops, Ministers, Rabbis, and Imams.

In the UK, the head of state and their children must belong to the Church of England. While, once upon a time, this may have been an accurate representation of the British public, it is not anymore, with less than a sixth of the British population identifying as Church of England. When being anointed monarch of the United Kingdom, the monarch must promise to ‘... maintain in the United Kingdom the Protestant reformed religion established by law’. The Ruler of the United Kingdom is called ‘The Defender of the Faith’, not of faith, but of the Faith, meaning Anglicanism. This seems exclusionary to many, in addition to being an echo of the United Kingdom’s racist past, where White Protestants were considered to be at the top of the ‘racial hierarchy’. Britain is currently in the process of trying to make amends for its colonial and racist past, yet these blatantly discriminatory statements are still at the heart of our coronation ceremony. Surely if Britain is the modern society that it claims to be, we must separate the Church and State and show that people of all faiths are welcome in our land.

26 bishops sit in the House of Lords, which some argue is not significant majority to pass or block bills, however, the Lords Spiritual often block bills about abortion and euthanasia, which they disagree with from a religious viewpoint, giving Anglicanism an unfair advantage above other religions. Only two countries in the world, Britain and Iran, have positions for unelected clerics like these. 1/3 of the clerics of the Church of England support the separation of the Church and State, and 44% would like looser ties to the State, as some believe that it is unfair that a small religious minority has such a disproportionally large amount of power. Others believe that it would be easier to resuscitate the Church’s popularity if it no longer was tied to the State so firmly. Some argue that the Lords Spiritual represent all religions, however, what would actually fairly represent religious minorities would be to take away some of the Lords Spiritual and instead fill their roles with clerics of a variety of faiths such as Roman Catholic bishops, Ministers, Rabbis, and Imams. These members would be appointed by an ecumenical committee, and each member would advocate for the values of the different religious minorities that they represent.

In state schools in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, it is a requirement that there is a daily act of worship that is of ‘wholly or mainly of a Christian character’ in state-funded schools. For a country whose fastest growing communities are Muslim and Jewish, this seems antiquated. Most Brits do not have a religion, so to make it compulsory to have one form of ‘wholly or mainly Christian’ worship a day seems unnecessary. This is time that instead could be used as multi-faith education time, where there could be an RMPS style lesson where children are educated on different religions and practices in the UK.

I strongly believe to have a truly democratic multi-faith society, we most abolish the connections between Church and State. The Royal Family should be figureheads for the ever-diversifying British society, and as such they should not represent what was once the majority, but is now a very small minority. The Royal Family should be free to practice their religion of choice in private. To have unelected bishops in the House of Lords is not democratic, and is resonant of the state that we were in the Middle Ages. Britain is an ethnically and religiously diverse nation, and should have fitting parliamentary representation as such. The laws surrounding the religion of the Royal Family were created in the sixteenth century, when Henry VIII switched England’s faith from Roman Catholicism to Protestantism. This shows just how outdated these laws are, and to make Britain a truly modern democracy, as we claim so proudly to be, there must be a separation of Church and State.

by Petra Pender 20/11/2021