On Christmas Day morning I will attend Holy Communion at All Saints Parish Church in Leamington Spa where I happen to be chair of the Friends of the Parish Church. The Friends are not confined to members of the congregation and are trying to raise money to restore the deteriorating fabric and also see the space used more as a community asset. I am a baptised but not a communicant member of the Church of England and therefore cannot take communion. So as far as I am concerned I am taking advantage of my rights as a citizen to attend services.
In some ways it is frustrating to attend a communion service and not participate fully. I was even offered a fast track to confirmation, but made it clear that I did not feel I was anywhere near a state of grace. Confirmation would involve me stating things about which I have serious doubts, just as I cannot accept everything in the Nicene Creed.
Conventional reformist wisdom is that the established status of the Church of England is an anachronism, indeed many Anglicans would hold to that view. In a diverse country, why should one version of one religion be privileged above all others, including representation in the House of Lords? It is an argument whose strength I acknowledge. If and when Brian becomes king, he has made it clear that he will see himself as defender of the faiths in the plural.
One of the strengths of establishment was that it provided a bulwark of a middle road form of Anglicanism which discouraged cults and sects, but in many ways the Church of England is already highly factionalised. Disestablishment would be the final blow to an institution with declining and ageing congregations (other than various manifestations of the evangelical wing). Some argue that it would not be missed: one should take faith seriously or reject it, but not take it lightly.
Other countries have an established church (or churches) that benefit from state taxes (there are also countries such as Germany which do not have an established church but have church taxes). In Finland almost all of the money goes to the Lutheran church. A friend of mine wanted to disconnect himself and found it a difficult procedure that encountered puzzlement as to why any Finn should wish to take this step.
For me the greatest value of the Church of England was attending one of its primary schools, although this involvement is also controversial. The school I attended served what was then a predominantly white working class area. It now serves a diverse area with an increasing number of pupils for whom English is an additional language. It still making a contribution to the local community, respecting other faiths whilst proclaiming Christian values: St. Margaret's Church of England school
I find the different tendencies within the CoE quite difficult to classify, but I would say that the school I attended and the adjacent now demolished church was at least English Catholic. As a consequence, I had to wrestle with some heavy duty theology from the age of seven onwards which played an important contribution to my intellectual development. I had to wrestle with puzzles I could not understand, let alone solve. For example, I have discussed the doctrine of transubstantiation with Roman Catholic friends and Anglicans, but I am still left baffled by it.
We had excellent teachers (one was a published author of books for children), but they came from relatively middle class backgrounds. Hence, the advice that we could attend Catholic mass if we went to France was somewhat irrelevant. A day trip to Boulonge would be just about affordable.
All this left me mystified about the difference between Anglo and Roman Catholicism. Somewhat irreverently, I asked if the problem would be solved if the Pope was English and the Vatican moved to Canterbury, an observation for which I was expelled from the class.
The ethical principles of Christianity as expressed particularly in the New Testament were ones I was generally in agreement with, although I had difficulties with Saint Paul. I welcome women clergy and a church that seeks to be inclusive of a range of sexual identities.
Some would say that Anglicanism is all about doubt. I can just about adhere to it as an Established Church which I attend as a citizen, but the link is tenuous.
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