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Article: A house divided. (Church of England)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- September 28, 1991
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1991 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The Church of England should split. So disestablish it
THE staid old Church of England seems to be tearing itself apart. in debates over women priests, homosexual clergy and the literal truth of the Bible, vicars and bishops appear to be at each other's throats, and the church on the brink of schism. it is not as bad as that. Would that it were.
Schism is healthy for churches. It marks the free exercise of conscience, and allows dissenting parties to broadcast the truth in the way they understand it. It is also healthy for congregations, for the best free-market reason: it allows them more choice. it is even possible that the more Britain's churches were ...