Description: Separating the question of establishment, from the question of presence in the community, Jonathan Chaplin argues in 'Beyond Establishment' that the time has come for the ending of privileged constitutional ties between the Church of England and the British state.
Brief description:
Jonathan Chaplin is a member of the Centre for Faith in Public Life at Wesley House, Cambridge, and of the Cambridge University Divinity Faculty.
Review Quotes: "Thank God someone finally had the courage to write this book - and that it was someone with the insight, erudition and awareness of Jonathan Chaplin. In this thoroughly researched and incisively argued volume, Chaplin breaks the awkward, complicit silence which had fallen over Anglican public theology in recent decades regarding church-state relations. He speaks authoritatively and directly into a historical moment when the UK is on the cusp of further significant constitutional change. There is renewed debate, post Brexit, about a United Ireland and an Independent Scotland. Either of those outcomes, or action to avert them, will drive a recalibration of devolution which will sweep away the House of Lords in its current form. A coming coronation risks exposing the anomalies of a ritual locked in to asymmetric and anglocentric patterns of establishment. This is a book for our times, which is essential reading for anyone interested in how the UK constitution works and the future role of religion in our public life. Chaplin's book resets the debate about the Church of England and its changing role at the heart of the UK state."--Doug Gay, University of Glasgow, UK