It’s very English (and, therefore, quite Anglican) to dismiss the evangelicals as crazy people with an antiquated addiction to the Bible. But it’s actually the strength of their faith that makes them so attractive to people searching for certainty in a confusing and often horrible world. After all, “we offer the keys to the kingdom of heaven” is a far more compelling advertisement for a church than, “help us address alienation and the inexorable rise of consumerism.”

Being cruel to Anglicans is about as low as kicking a puppy. The Anglican Church does a lot of good for a lot of people and its presence in British public life forces debates about politics and social policy to be a bit more reflective than they would otherwise be. It is also capable of profound beauty. Village churches are arks of Englishness: neatly stacked Books of Common Prayer, hard wooden pews, a perfume of human breath and burning wax, a Union Jack hung above a shrine to the fallen. I pray that the Church of England is never disestablished, for I feel about these temples in the same way that I do public libraries. I never visit them, but it brings me comfort to know that they are there.

In the 21st century, what is the purpose of the village church? For much of the establishment of the Church of England, the answer seems to be “relevance” – they must earn their status in society by reflecting society’s diversity of background and opinion. The great irony is that they want to make relevant something that is actually devalued by the attempt to make it relevant. God doesn’t do “relevance.” He just is – and, for most religious consumers, that’s what makes him so appealing.

For this newspaper, Helen Goodman writes that the Synod’s decision to reject women bishops is driven by a “backward-looking minority” and is a threat to the “church’s mission.” She sums that mission up thus,

The Church of England is a great institution. It is the established church with a vital role to play in the life of the nation. There are certainly plenty of challenges where the Church’s unique voice needs to be heard: how to bind fractured communities; address alienation and the inexorable rise of consumerism and how to protect the natural environment.

Note that one word that is missing from this mission is “God”. Of course, binding communities and criticising capitalism is a big part of The Big Man’s agenda; we are all called to love our fellow man and question injustice. But, atheists can do those things too. Aside from a hearty chorus of “All Things Bright And Beautiful” there’s little to differentiate Helen Goodman’s essentially humanist vision of Christianity from socialism – it’s just nice people trying to be nice. Great stuff, but it lacks the sense of spiritual authority that actually makes going to church a unique experience. It’s difficult to distinguish between joining Goodman’s church and, say, joining Greenpeace – although Greenpeace don’t ask you to get out of bed on a Sunday morning.

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