Jon Bright (London, OK): Wyn Grant writes today about the future of Church and State according to Gordon Brown's green paper. His take:
There does appear to be a vade mecum available. Iain McLean of Oxford University has suggested a reform of Establishment on the 'Scottish model'. Reform It should be remembered that when the Queen is in Scotland she does not worship in the local branch of the Anglican Communion, the Episcopalian Church, but at the Kirk (the Church of Scotland). Given that, it is something of a mystery why the then Archbishop of Canterbury refused to give communion to the Moderator of the Church of Scotland at her Coronation in 1953.
The 'Scottish model' is disputed even in Scotland. But in essence it would mean that the Church of England would remain as a national church, but would be removed from political control. Many experts see the Green Paper as giving some encouragement in that direction.
Would this be a happy medium - a way of removing the Church from public life? Or would it simply perpetuate state subsidising of our largest religion without the corresponding political responsibilities? I'm not an expert on this at all, so will keep an eye on what Wyn says in future...
