Britain today suffers from loss of the common values that “have deep roots in our nation’s Christian history,” the Archbishop of Canterbury has declared.
“We must use hope to heal the future,” he wrote in The Mail on Sunday ahead of the March 8 publication of Reimagining Britain: Foundations for Hope, a book on the state of the nation. “We must be a warm, welcoming nation. We must never crush the new diversity and freedoms.”
With uncertainty caused by debate about Britain’s exit from the European Union and a growing gap between rich and poor, he said, “We are facing our biggest challenge and shake-up to society since the Second World War.”
Even so, he believes there are “grounds for hope and the capacity to overcome our problems.” He cites poor funding of education, inadequate housing, and healthcare inequalities, but insists Britain’s ethical heritage means it has “every reason for hope.”
The British “have reimagined ourselves before,” he said. “Christian thinkers such as Archbishop William Temple led the way.”
John Martin
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
