Britain can no longer be described as a Christian country, three quarters of Church of England clergy believe, according to a landmark survey conducted by The Times of London.
The wide-ranging poll of frontline Anglican clergy also found a strong desire among rank-and-file priests for significant changes in Church doctrine on issues such as sex, sexuality, marriage and the role of women to bring it into greater line with public opinion.
The survey analysed responses from 1,200 serving priests and ministers.
Asked whether they think “Britain can or cannot be described as a Christian country”, only a quarter (24.2 per cent) answered: “Yes, Britain can be described as a Christian country today”. Almost two thirds (64.2 per cent) said Britain can be called Christian “but only historically, not currently” while 9.2 per cent answered “no”.
Figures from the 2021 census showed that the proportion of people who identified as Christian in England and Wales had fallen below half for the first time — to 46.2 per cent — with the strongest growth among those who say they have “no religion”. The figure has trebled since 2001 to 37.5 per cent.
The survey also uncovered high levels of stress among clerics, many of whom feel over-stretched. They fear that the Church’s efforts to arrest the decline in attendance will fail and this may ultimately lead to its “extinction”.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/church-of-england-christianity-survey-gay-marriage-sex-female-archbishop-70ck07sj6