The Church of England is facing what many are calling an existential crisis, as the institution reels from the fallout of a devastating report into sadistic child abuse perpetrated by the late barrister John Smyth. The scandal has already triggered the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and raised serious questions about the church’s ability to reform itself.
Beneath the surface of England’s 16,500 parish churches, where the faithful gather each Sunday to pray and sing hymns, there is now a strong undercurrent of shame, anger, sadness and dread. The 253-page report, which details Smyth’s brutality, the church’s repeated cover-ups and omissions, and the lifelong trauma suffered by victims, has sent shockwaves through the church and wider society.
A Crisis Long in the Making
According to Professor Linda Woodhead, a moral and social theology expert at King’s College London, this moment of reckoning has been “a very, very long time coming”. Over the past decade, a series of damning investigations have exposed bishops, clergy and senior lay volunteers as abusers, with church figures often aware of the abuse but failing to stop it or report it.
There’s been a simmering anger among churchgoers and survivors of abuse that no one has been held accountable. What’s happening now is a culmination of many years of resentment building up, and finally it’s erupted.
– Tim Wyatt, Author of The Critical Friend newsletter
Under Archbishop Welby’s watch, the church has pumped millions into improving safeguarding and issued repeated apologies for past failures. But for many, it’s too little, too late. There’s now a sense that the entire hierarchy is tainted by complicity in the abuse crisis.
A Church Divided
Beyond the abuse scandal, the Church of England faces deep divisions over issues like sexuality and the role of women. The global Anglican Communion, of which the C of E is the mother church, is being pulled apart by conservative churches in the global south and more liberal western congregations.
Whoever succeeds Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury will need to bridge these divides while also rebuilding trust on safeguarding. Some believe it’s time for the church’s first female leader, to signal a clear break from the past. But conservatives may try to block any candidate seen as too progressive on social issues.
An Uncertain Future
Hovering over all of this is the question of the Church of England’s long-term future. Weekly attendance has plummeted in recent decades, and many are now openly questioning whether its privileged status as the established church is still justified in an increasingly secular society.
I think there will be a residual institution clinging on, but the sense of a genuinely national church that is able to sustain worship in every community, up and down the land, I think we may be in the last decade of that.
– Tim Wyatt
For now, the church is focused on selecting a new archbishop to guide it through this moment of crisis. But many believe that more radical reform – perhaps even disestablishment – will eventually be needed if this ancient institution is to survive and remain relevant in the 21st century.
As parishes across England continue their weekly worship, the faithful are praying for wisdom, healing, and a way forward. The road ahead looks more uncertain than ever. But crisis can also be an opportunity for renewal – if the Church of England can find the courage to truly confront its demons and embrace change.
