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| Source: Report of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group on Religion or Belief in Parliament |
The recent Report of the All Party Parliamentary Humanist Group on Religion and Belief includes some interesting recommendations. In addition to dumping the Lords Spiritual there are recommendations on The Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons, Prayers in Parliament and Parliament's Role in Governing the Church of England.
In their Forward to the report the Group observe that:
"The UK is more diverse than ever before. In 1983 some 40 percent of British adults said they were Anglicans, 24 percent other Christians, 4 percent other religions, and 31 percent belonging to no religion. Nowadays 13 percent say they are Anglicans, 25 percent other Christians, 10 percent other religions, and 53 percent of no religion. These trends look set to continue – today just one percent of British adults aged 18-24 are Anglicans.
"...Parliament remains a Christian institution. 26 bishops of the Church of England receive automatic places in the House of Lords. The speaker of the House of Commons has to appoint a Church of England chaplain. The Church of England opens proceedings each day by leading prayers. Parliament governs the Church – through its approval of Church measures, through the ecclesiastical committee, and through questions in the House of Commons."
Anglican Bishops and Archbishops sit in the House of Lords by virtue of the Bishoprics Act 1878. But bishops are not what they were. Mainly trendy lefties, the typical Anglican bishop today is wedded to the spirit of the age,conforming to the pattern of the world. As members of the House of Lords they are able to use a privileged position to lead even more people astray.
The situation has become more absurd following the Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 which allows accelerating the appointment of women bishops to the House of Lords for no reason other than they are female bishops.
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| Assorted Lords Spiritual at the State Opening of Parliament October 2019 Source: Twitter |
What an insult to such formidable peers asBaroness Trumpington,Baroness Seear and Baroness (Shirley) Williams of Crosby to give just a few examples.
Lightweight bishops sitting as Lords Spiritual is even more of a nonsense when the majority of Anglican bishops give the impression of having nothing spiritual about them.
They have become an anachronism and deserve to be dumped so long as the baby is not thrown out with the bathwater.
Prince Charles has been quoted in the past as saying that on ascending the throne he would become Defender of the Faiths rather than the Faith. Even if he were not to inherit the title of Supreme Governor of the Church of England that would still turn his coronation into a charade. He has since denied the claim but still harbours Islamic leanings.
The Parliamentary Humanist Group drew attention to another charde, the appointment of the Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons. By custom the Speaker appoints a Church of England chaplain. In what was regarded as an act of political correctness, the then Speaker, John Bercow, of Jewish heritage but not religious, set aside convention and appointed his own choice, the Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin.
Hudson-Wilkin now bishop of Dover!
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| State opening of Parliament, May 8, 2013. Source: The Church of England in Parliament |
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