The Church of England should abandon religion and become a political party.

Photo: Guardian

"The Church of England should abandon religion and become a political party." That is the conclusion drawn from YouGov’s latest poll for Prospect magazine here (£):

"Back in 1957, Gallup asked people a range of questions about their faith. They found that most people were Christians who regarded Jesus Christ as the son of God. Most people drew a clear distinction between religion and politics and wanted religious leaders to worry about our souls, but not about government policy.

Half a century later, YouGov has repeated Gallup’s questions and discovered a precipitous decline in religious belief. The decline in church attendance reflects more than a stay-at-home culture dominated by television and computer technology. It flows from a collapse of faith in the central tenets of Christianity."

Of those questioned 60% believe in the theory of evolution and natural selection while only 8% believe biblical explanations of life on earth. More worrying for the Church, only 26% believe that the Bible's account of the resurrection is broadly right with 48% not believing this happened. Perhaps this is to be expected when trendy clergy express a similar view ignoring, or in ignorance of, what St. Paul had to say: 

"If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.... But, in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead" (1 Cor 15:14, 20).

Something else for the enhanced House of Bishops to ponder.