Anglican Christian social theory: an assessment of social welfare and the church of England in the twentieth century

Abstract

This study assesses the contribution of the Church of England to social thought in the twentieth century. Its theoretical, multidisciplinary perspective highlights the motivation, ideology and theology, which has driven Anglican social involvement and works towards the construction and examination of an ideal type of Anglican Christian Social Theory against its background as a state church. Anglican Christian social theory is a tradition of theologically grounded political thought relating Christian theology and English cultural life. This thesis explores the development of this tradition in the twentieth century by considering its embodiment in Episcopal leadership and its expression in an official Church report. Accordingly the thesis comprises of three distinct yet complimentary studies allowing for comparisons to be drawn between the earlier and later decades of the century. First an assessment of the thought of William Temple whose ministry spanned the first half of the twentieth century and who, as an Archbishop of Canterbury, personified the theory under scrutiny. Secondly, a study of David Jenkins, Bishop of Durham, whose outspokenness on welfare issues and questioning of the role of bishops addresses the later half of the century and allows for a comparison with Temple's episcopacy. Thirdly, to account for significant social changes in leadership and social life between the 1940s and 1980s this study adds an analysis of the ‘Faith in the City’ report to these studies of bishops. Together these three topics lead to the conclusion that it is the Church's own perception of its role in the nation underlining its belief in its obligation to interact with the state that is the defining and unchanging element of Anglican Christian Social Theory. This perception on the part of those who represent the tradition highlights theology as having a central role to play in moral political thought.