Wholly Weak

This fellow may look like a furry Cambrian druid. But he is in fact the leader of a congregation that used to be referred to as "the Tory Party at prayer". If such a thing ever had the ring of truth about it, it was several decades ago. One might more accurately describe the Church of England nowadays as the moral conscience of Socialism.

As a cheerful atheist who has no hang ups about belting out hymns in the fine architecture of our parish churches and the glorious caverns of our great cathedrals, I am in no position to argue the finer points of Christian morality.

But I will say this: if Dr Williams cannot muster up the courage to mount a robust defence of the established church in Britain, then he should not be surprised that it has become a laughing stock. As the Church of England becomes less serious and more liberal with each passing year, so the pews empty and the roof timbers rot. The beef-and-claret parsons of my youth have been replaced by earnest do-gooders who do not recognise the old certainties of individual responsibility and accountability.

Perhaps the church has always been political. But I doubt it has ever been so cringing in its attitudes to some other faiths. Rod Liddle, as ever calling a spade a bloody shovel, deals with it here. This is one of his conclusions:

It is a little like the BBC, in a way, the Church of England. We all knew why it was brought into being and we all signed up to the necessity for its existence, back then. And we might still have an affection for both institutions, based upon nostalgia and wishful thinking. And yet now, with every year that passes, one wonders why they both still exist, what the purpose is, exactly, for having them.