The Queen of england and the Role of the Church
The Queen of England Defends the role of the Church
It is not often that the Queen of England speaks out on a controversial subject but she has nailed her colors firmly to the mast on her recent comments about the Church of England in the lives of her subjects saying that the role of the Church is “commonly under-appreciated” and “occasionally misunderstood”.
She made her comments at a multi-faith reception at Lambeth Palace in central London.
The Queen also said that the Church of England has a duty to protect the freedom of all faiths in the country.
In her speech, the Queen said: "Here at Lambeth Palace we should remind ourselves of the significant position of the Church of England in our nation's life.
"The concept of our established Church is occasionally misunderstood and, I believe, commonly under-appreciated.
"Its role is not to defend Anglicanism to the exclusion of other religions. Instead, the Church has a duty to protect the free practice of all faiths in this country."
Before the Queen's speech, Dr Williams drew laughter when he said the Queen had shown that being religious was "not eccentric or abnormal".
"On the contrary, if we take seriously the way our constitution works, the UK is a society where we might expect people to grasp the importance of symbols and traditions, not as a sign of mere conservatism or nostalgia but as a sign of what holds us together, what commits us to each other," he added.
The Queen is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The link between state and Church also means 26 bishops sit in the House of Lords and clergy carry out numerous functions including the coronation.
BBC religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott said the status of the Church has come under scrutiny in recent years but the Queen had given it a "robust defence" in her speech.
The Queen's remarks tie in closely with the warnings of "militant secularisation".made by cabinet minister Baroness Warsi.Expressing her strong opinions in the Daily Telegraph, the Muslim peer said religion was being "sidelined, marginalised and downgraded in the public sphere" and urged Europe to become "more confident and more comfortable in its Christianity".
