Religion and society think tank Theos said today that the next Archbishop should be even more political than the last.

The comments come in response to BBC polling on public perceptions of the nine year tenure of the Archbishop of Canterbury, which found that 46% agreed that he had helped the Church remain relevant to modern Britain (while 27% disagreed).

The poll and comments come as the Crown Nominations Commission meets on Wednesday to make its final decision on who will be the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

Theos Director Elizabeth Oldfield said:

“We hope the next Archbishop of Canterbury will continue the good work of Rowan Williams. He has been an active voice in the public square on a range of pressing social issues, from euthanasia to the economy.”

“The BBC poll findings show that the public continue to value the moral and intellectual leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury.”

Theos report Turbulent Priests: The Archbishop of Canterbury in contemporary English politics, released last year, examines the political interventions of Rowan Williams, George Carey and Robert Runcie in every government since 1979.

Covering issues as wide ranging as asylum, criminal justice, military conflict and church schools, the report asks whether the Archbishop’s politics have been self-interested, outdated or unrepresentative, as critics claim. It concludes that archiepiscopal politics is anything but, with the Archbishop regularly defending the rights of those beyond the church and willing to risk government and even popular condemnation in doing so.

Oldfield added:

“Increasingly, the role of the Archbishop should be to ask the difficult questions of our leaders and our society. He’s uniquely placed to make the case that faith is part of the solution, not part of the problem.”

“If anything, the next Archbishop ought to be even more political than the last.”

Notes for editors

1. Rowan Williams will deliver the Theos Annual Lecture at Methodist Central Hall on 5 October. His lecture is titled ‘The person and the individual: human dignity, human relationships and human limits’.

2. Press enquiries should be directed to the Theos Press Office:

Theos
77 Great Peter Street, London SW1P 2EZ
E. press@theosthinktank.co.uk
T. 0207 828 7777
M. 07796325170 (out of hours)

Image by ahisgett