What Hope for the Next Archbishop of Canterbury?


Notice: Undefined index: blognum in /home/249027.cloudwaysapps.com/hegpgfvrtc/public_html/wp-content/themes/martynpercy/content.php on line 39

(An extended version of the article that appeared in ‘Credo’ in The Times, 04 January 2025 and ‘Anglicanism’, February 2025).

There is nothing unique about the premature departure of an Archbishop of Canterbury. Archbishop Welby leaves office on January 6th, the Feast of the Epiphany, marking the visit of the Magi to see the Christ-child. So, it is perhaps sobering to remember that, like the proverbial wise men, many of his predecessors left office to return home by some other route they had not initially bargained on.

Continue reading

Succession? What to Expect After Archbishop Welby


Notice: Undefined index: blognum in /home/249027.cloudwaysapps.com/hegpgfvrtc/public_html/wp-content/themes/martynpercy/content.php on line 39

Archbishop Justin Welby left office on January 6th after a decade of decline and turbulence in the Church of England and wider Anglican Communion. To fathom the future of succession for the global head of the Episcopal Church, a little bit of history might be instructive for the next occupant of Lambeth Palace.

Continue reading

Churches and Cultural Climate-Change Denial (Part Three): Forecasting and Futurescape


Notice: Undefined index: blognum in /home/249027.cloudwaysapps.com/hegpgfvrtc/public_html/wp-content/themes/martynpercy/content.php on line 39
Image Caption

If English Anglican white Evangelicals thought the analysis of Robert P. Jones represented a range of subjects on which they’d rather not comment on (i.e., “…Let’s just get back to those Mission Action Plans, church-plant, grow, grow, grow…”, etc.), then he has done some more calculations and projections for us to wrestle with.  As he is charting the deep and rapid changes in the cultural currents, his data and research that should give yet more cause for concern to white Evangelicals in the UK and USA. 

Continue reading

Churches and Cultural Climate-Change Denial (Part Two): Money, Sex and Power


Notice: Undefined index: blognum in /home/249027.cloudwaysapps.com/hegpgfvrtc/public_html/wp-content/themes/martynpercy/content.php on line 39
Image Caption

One of the leading commentators on religion and politics in the USA is Robert P. Jones, who is the CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI).  His recent books on the churches and racism have rightly attracted high praise for their depth of research, the range of statistics he draws on, and the bodies he consults (e.g., Pew Foundation, several Washington DC-based polling and research centres, etc). Best of all, perhaps, is his unimpeachable clarity: the boldness and frankness of his prescient analysis; and his conclusions and future projections.  Few could easily argue with his devastating blend of data, history, cultural and political analysis, and his very nuanced feel for and understanding of religion in contemporary America.

Continue reading