Whether the issue is the U.S. Supreme Court's approval of a voucher program in Cleveland or Congress' apoplectic condemnation of a court decision striking "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance, we often hear that the "wall of separation" between church and state is being demolished. To put such concerns in perspective, it's useful to look across the ocean.
The Church of England is "by law established" and bishops are chosen (from a list prepared by a church commission) by the prime minister, and then ratified by the queen. Although even Prince Charles has raised questions about whether the monarch of a multireligious nation should be identified with one denomination, opponents of a change in the church's official status are fighting back.
Last weekend the General Synod of the Church of England overwhelmingly rejected a motion to take the appointment of bishops out of the hands of the prime minister. The vote came as the British press has been reporting that Prime Minister Tony Blair is likely to look outside England for the next archbishop of Canterbury. The leading candidate is Archbishop Rowan Williams, the head of the Anglican Church in Wales, which has no ties to the British government.
Having presided over an independent church, Archbishop Williams is viewed as a potential supporter of "disestablishment" of the Church of England. In an apparent attempt to pre-empt him, the outgoing archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey (who will be visiting Pittsburgh this weekend) has praised the church-state connection and other bishops successfully urged the synod not to cut the prime minister out of the selection process for bishops.
To be fair, the official status of the Church of England does not interfere with the "free exercise of religion" by adherents of other faiths. Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and most recently Muslim religious leaders are invited on to public platforms in Britain as they are in this country. Moreover, non-Anglicans can serve at the highest level of government. Indeed, the current leader of the Conservative opposition in the House of Commons, and thus a potential prime minister, is a Roman Catholic.
All the same, the principal bishop of the Church of England is about to be selected by a government official. By comparison with that state of affairs, the United States is not threatened by an "establishment of religion" -- even if schoolchildren pledge allegiance to "one nation, under God."
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