The Effects of the Church of England on Western World
The Church of England
The Church of England is the official church in England and the Isle of Man as well as the parent church of the worldwide Anglican Church. As the oldest church of the Anglican Communion, the Church of England is considered to be one of the many communions of the Anglican Church and so its power and influence sometimes extends to territories outside England. When it was established, the Church of England sought to be a church that could be in the most strategic position to meet the needs of the contemporary Christian through the combination of both the teachings of Roman and Orthodox Catholicism and those of the more recent Reformed Church. As such, the Church of England views itself as having aspects of the Catholic Church as well as those of the Reformed Church.
History of the Church of England
The origin of the Church of England can be said to be directly linked to the events what began in 597 during the Gregorian Mission. This was the time the modern-day England was occupied by many foreigners who engaged in al forms of idol worship until this mission which sought to have the area evangelized with the aim of teaching people of the new way of life in the knowledge of the true God. Not that there was no Christian worship in England then, ort even by the time of the invasion by the Anglo-Saxons but that there was just a lot of difficulty getting the natives to abandon their pagan ways even though Christianity was acceptable in the country as the main religion of the people of Britain. So, in response to this trend, saint Augustus of Canterbury was send to carry out a thorough evangelism by Pope Gregory I. being assisted by the other more devout Christians in the area of Canterbury, Augustus was able to establish a church in Canterbury a year later of which he became the first Archbishop. Later, other people were able to come and work with him, notably Theodore of Tarsus who was later to become one of the Archbishops of the church. These women helped a lot in the planning and organization of Christianity in England, and mist of the practices of the church were based on Roman teachings. This was until 1534 when the church in England broke away from the Roman Church. This was during the reign of King Henry VIII. Over time, the Church in England continued to solely but surely transform itself from the original Roman outfit and gradually embraced new forms of worship. By the time it came to be officially known as the Church of England, there was a clearly distinction from the original catholic teachings, notable among them being the incorporation of Reformist practices without necessarily letting go of catholic aspects.
The Impacts of the Church of England on World Affairs
There are many aspects in the West that have been shaped by the Church of England ever since it came into being those many years back. As mentioned in the preceding section,
A key and notable contribution of the church has the general checking of evil and the ensuring that the countries in which the church has influence are able to remain sober and more inclined to taking part in affairs that have the approval of God. Jesus taught in the beatitudes, He at one time called on His disciples to be the salt and the light of the world, claiming that if salt ever loses its saltiness then it can never ever be made salty again. Such salt has no other value but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. Likewise, there is no way a lamp can be lit and then hidden under a basket. Instead, the lamp is put on an elevated stand so that it can give light to all people (Matthew 513-16). Therefore, the Church of England has been playing the role of being the light of the world as well as the salt of the world.
Settling Political and Theological Disputes
The events that led to the breaking away of the English Church from the Roman one are a key indication of just how controversy regarding civilian affairs can impact the lives of people. During that time, when King Henry VIII was the leader of the church in England, there was a great desire for the church to annul some of the practices that had been traditionally practiced by the Church of England even though deep within the hearts of some of its leaders they was no biblical basis for such teachings. Although this later came to be understood to be one of the approaches that King Henry VIII wanted to use to separate from his wife, it was also a key turning point for the church which saw not only the independence of the Church of England abut also the adoption of practices and procedures that were more in accordance with the teachings of the Reformists. There, just as much as it was a political gesture, the breakaway symbolized a deep failure by the church to understand that there is a risk of false doctrine finding its way into the church and being imposed on people who are otherwise never in agreement with it. The result was that there were more reforms in the church administration and although to the ordinary person this was a serious split in the church, it served to make the worship of God stronger. England, the Isle of Man and all the other dioceses that are affiliated to the Church of England became more autonomous and were able to better carry out the work of mission as they are required to in the Great Commission (Mathew 2414). The effect of this step by the Church of England was responsible for the current state of stability ion the church to this day. This is because church unity ids one of the key aspects that are critical if the church has to make any impact in the world.
Many times the Bible admonishes the church which is the body of Christ to be united because although the body is made up of many parts, it is essential that not only every part is made to do its work but also that they work alongside each other so that the body can remain well, and healthy. Previously, there had been disputes over church leadership and other issues touching on the legality and validity of certain teachings. However, there is now a lot of church unity, all courtesy of the Church of Englands efforts to shape a society that was being led astray.
The Legislative Role of the Church of England
From the time the prophets of old declared through prophecy hat a messiah would come into the world and that He would establish a kingdom here on earth, many Jews believed that it would be through Him that they would be rid of the oppression that they faced from the Roman imperial rule. Little did they know that Christs kingdom would not be an earthly one. In the present world, there has been the need for the church to play a more proactive role in the affairs of their nations. The Church of England has from its inception being instrumental in offering direction on secular matters. This has gone to a level where some bishops of the Church of England sit in the House of Commons as legal members. This is a pointer to the fact that the church has been instrumental in giving a spiritual direction to a world that is otherwise not able to understand or to hear the voice of God.
The Church of England has been more instrumental in helping prove the point that there is a lot of success in any region and nation when there is a clear separation of the state from the church. Whenever parliament enacts a law or during any changes to the constitution of any country in the West, including Britain, there has always been a clamor for there to be a clear and distinct separation of the state from the religion. The Church of England has been instrumental too in ensuring that this is the order in the West so as to allow matters of religion to be set apart from matters of the state and the nation. Over time, t has been witnessed attempts to have the church being presented as one unit with the state. In all endeavors, however, there has been no real success. The notably country in the West to try to do this was Turkey where there have been attempts to have a secular government.
The Church of England has opposed the continued existence of a government that is known to be supportive of a certain religion. Although Christianity is the dominant religion in the West, no attempts have ever been made by governments there to make themselves or these nations to be Christian states because of the understanding that there is no way harmony and peaceful co-existence can take place where one religion is favored by the government of the day. The Church of England has particularly been at the forefront fighting to ensure that religious freedoms are given to all people, leading by example by allowing those people who are dissatisfied with its way of doing things to go ahead and leaver the church. Therefore, when the constitution of the EU was being prepared, the Church of England was very instrumental in ensuring there was a lit of consideration being given to the issue of religion and how it was to be handled in the constitution. This is because the Church of England understood that the EU is a very culturally diverse society with people who profess different faiths including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Therefore, it was very important that the EU had to design its constitution to make it as accommodative of the different faiths as much as possible. All this was largely because the Church of England was willing not to have Christianity favored over other religions, even though this was a possible way likely to be followed.
Promotion of the Equal Rights and an End to Discrimination
Perhaps the most instrumental role that the Church of England has played in the West is seeking to promote the rights of al people to access what they need. Impact was in the fight against racism when the church ensured that there was no-one who would be discriminated on the basis on ones color or racial background. As such, the Church of England become just about the first one to allow mixed congregations in its church. Combating the advancement of ideologies that promote racial and other forms of discrimination or division is also one of the greatest impacts that the Church of England has had in the country.
In the recent times, there has tended to be an emergence of individuals and organizations bent on ensuring that the British society is divided on the basis of race, religious affiliation, social class, among other attributes. A notable example is the British National Party (BNP) which has bee, under the guise of trying to promote the countrys cultural, religious, social, and ethnic diversity, trying to divide the country on such bases and the promotion of other ideologies that are grossly out of step with contemporary societal norms. The Church of England has been in the forefront trying to oppose this party and many others by asserting that there is no way the British societies will be divided on lines of race and other less important aspects. The BNP has been noted by many people as a very dangerous organization and so its agenda have been opposed. That aside, the Church of England has been instrumental in the fight for equal rights to all people in the society, including women and the minorities.
A recent development, based on the strict reformist agenda of the church, it broke from tradition and allowed for the consecration of women as priests. Although this move greatly angered many people who believed that the place of the woman in the church is not at the pulpit as a leader, the church has stood its ground. It has been a number of women priests and there are plans to even ordain women as bishops. The aim is not to sideline men but to ensure that just like the early church of the Jesus Christ had many women such as Priscilla, Sapphira, Tryphena, Mary, Julia, Phoebe, and Tryphosa (Romans 161-17). As such, the church has ensured that discrimination against women is not a vice that is allowed to take root in the Western society as has been witnessed in other areas in the world.
The other most controversial issue has been the ordination of same-sex priests as long as they are celibate. This move by the Church of England has generated a lot of debate as to whether it is morally and biblically correct to have such ordinations or not. The church has stood its ground and said that there is not a person who is to be discriminated against as al people are equal before God. The church has held that by denying such people the chance to lead the church then it is clearly that the church does not really believe in the reform agenda on whose basis it was founded. The direct impact of this move has been a breakaway from the main church of many dioceses, and a decline in the membership of the church. This is perhaps a negative impact that the church has brought about in Western world, although it al depends on which side of the debate one is supporting. This is because human rights activists leally support the church for its all-inclusive policy that seeks t end all forms of discrimination, while other religious faiths, including some within the Church of England itself feel the move has been taken too far. To this end, the controversy notwithstanding, the Church of England has managed to bring to the people of Britain rights which had been denied or withheld for a long time.
The Role of the Church of England in Evangelism
For a long time, the call to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth as given by Jesus Christ has been embraced by the Church of England over the years. The church has been active in missionary work not only within Europe but also in Asia and other places. Today, having began just as a small church, the Church of England boast many affiliate churches and is the third largest church in the world as far as congregation size or number of followers is concerned. This has of course not been an easy task. The effect is that a lot of people in the Western World have either become followers of the Christian faith or have been able to remain as faithful Christians in spite of the sweeping forces of religious change in the many years of the history of the Church of England.
Today, most Westerners pride themselves as being Christians. This is largely due to the efforts of the Church of England. Consider, for instance, the European Union. Although it is a largely Christian region save for a few nations with other religious faiths like France which has a significant number of its people being Muslims, the Church of England has played a great role in ensuring that the religion is faithful not only to people in England but also in the entire EU region. Today, most of the Western World can pride ion being predominantly Christian area because the Church of England has to do something as far as evangelism in order to ensure that Christianity spread as far as possible. Capitalism that is enjoyed in the West came about largely because the Church of England was instrumental in opposing communist ideologies that threatened to hamper the development of the world. The West also has some of the most stable economies in the world because of having embraced capitalism and not communism.
Promotion of Harmonious Living and Peace
The Church of England has played a critical role in bringing about peaceful living among people of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. It has been instrumental in the peace campaign and this has ensured that people have lived together in harmony. During the colonial times, the church played a big role in ensuring that the natives of colonies like the United States of America had hope and lived peacefully with others in spite of the many different migrant communities that were settling there. Today, it is the church that has been able to bring together the firm and close-knit fabric that is currently observed in the United States. It was as though the colonial could do anything else except hinder the church from carrying out its work.
The Anglican community around the world in general and in the United States in particular is largely testimony of the tireless efforts of the Church of England in ensuring that people were able to live together and to tolerate each other even in the face of calamities and disasters. Today, Many people who could not afford to live with other communities are now able to live together side by side because they have become one in Christ, all due to the efforts of the Church of England to unify all people and to ensure that the love of God was able to help them bear with one another for their own god and for the good of the future generations.
Conclusion
The Church of England has been responsible for many positive developments inn the Western World. Key among them has been the enhancing of peace and harmony, opposing cruel regimes and organizations, enhancing the peaceful co-existence between different people and so promoting unity among different groups of people, and ensuring that racism and other forms of discrimination were defeated. The Church of England has also been responsible for the settlement of political and theological disputes, the promotion of theological and religious reforms, and the enhancement of democratic rights in Britain by taking part in the political processes there. Notable among them has been the participation of the church in the House of Commons. All these and many more are proof of the great role which the church plays in the Western World.
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