Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-07-26
THE
BRITISH
CRISIS

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LONDON, July 10. 1910.
One principal factor in the politics of
Great Britain. as Of every other Euror
pean country. is exceedingly difficult for
Americans to appreciate or understand.
That factor is the relation of religion to
politics as manifested in the institution
of state church The absolute divorce
of church and state in the United States
has removed the religious factor from
among the possible political problems. In
Great Britain the church still is powerful
in politics. and in the present battle be-
tween the unprivileged masses and the
privileged classes it is one of the chief
bulwarks of the aristocracy. The Church
of England is the state church in Eng
land: the Church of Wales a separate
institution of the Anglican order. is the
established Church of Wales and Mon
mouth the Church of Ireland. also An
glican, was disestablished by the efforts
of Mr.. Gladstone in 1869; the Church of
Scotland is PreSby terrain. The Church of
England however, is the principal church
of the realm. and it exercises a vast in
f1uence in politics, and possesses a great
deal of direct political power.
About half of the people of England
are communicates of the Established
Church. That the
Church Is Torn church lives up to
n: it's obligations as a
not be denied. There are no better men
among all the Christian workers of the
world than are to be found among the
clergy and the laity of the Church of
England. The church is torn by dissen-
sions because of differences of opinion
concerning forms of worship and theo-
logical doctrines, but it is, taken as a
whole mighty power for good. So far
as it is a religious body it merits no ad-
verse criticism. AS a political institution.
according to American standards and
democratic ideals, it is a survival of me-
dievalism without redeeming feature.
The establishment of the church by
law means the incorporation of the law
of the church into the law of the land. 1t
means that the church courts have a CO.
ercive jurisdiction over ecclesiastical mat
tiers which the civil power will enforce.
1t means that the bishops of the church
sit in the house of lords as legislators
for all the people. 1t means that the
church cOnvocation, a religious legiSla-
ture, is summoned by the crown and can
enact laws only by the assent of the
king. 1t means that the doctrines and
ceremonies of the church have the statu-
tory authority of acts of parliament to
support them. 1t means that large
number of the benefces or positions,
ranging from curate to archbishop, are
at the disposal of persons who hold i'm
portant Offices in the government. 1t
means that the machinery of the civil
government may be brought into opera
ton to collect tithes and assessments
owed to the church. 1t means that all
other religious bodies are placed at a
disadvantage, that they are not the equal
in power. position or responsibility of
the established church, and that all per-
sons outside the pale of the state church
must labor under social, political and
even economic disadvantages which are
unjust, unfair and un-Christian.
The heads of the church, the Arch
bishops of Canterbury and York, and a
great num-
Heads of Church Der of the
Named by Politicians. snnaintad =
Now, despite what the English say, po-
litical patronage in Great Britain is not
so very different from what it is in the
n1CeO States. IL TIE EIiSliSH SSStcHl
were transferred to the United States we
should witness the spectacle of the Arch
bishop of Cincinnati of the American
Church being named by Frank H. Hitch
cock as chairman of the national repub-
lican committee, possibly upon the recon-
mendation of Boss George B. Cox. In a
democratic administration Charley Muir
ply and Fingy Corners could designate
the Bishops of Manhattan and Buffalo.
The Cathedral of Chicago would be under
the ecclesiastical dominion of Hinky
Dink and Bathhouse John.
AS matter, of fact the head of the
Anglican Church may be named by a
Jewish Disraeli, Unitarian Chamber
lain, an Agnostic Balfour or Dissenting
Asquith, quite as often as by an Angli-
can Gladstone. But this is not half. In
the rural districts, and to some extent in
the cities. the churches are the private
property of the landlord upon whose land
they are situated. In such cases the
landlord has the absolute disposal of the
patronage of the church, called "a liv-
ing"
A living means life appointment as
rector Of the church, without any regard
to the wishes of the congregation. and
without any regard to the efficiency of
the incumbent, or his conduct in office.
These livings are sold When an Eng
liShman hears that municipal political
boss in an American city has sold the
job of street commissioner to a political
henchman for a term of, say, four years,
sion by the wickedness and corruption
of his degenerate American cousins. But
when a prOfiigate, indecent moral leper