The appointment of Sarah Mullally as the new leader of Britain’s state church has drawn attention to an important aspect of the relationship between the church and the state, a relationship that violates the democratic principle of separation of church and state.
For the Crown Nominations Commission that recommended the state cleric for the job of Archbishop of Canterbury was chaired by British former spy Jonathan Evans. Evans once headed Britain’s internal security bureau.
Fittingly Mr Evans is classed as a knight in the country’s class system of which the church is an integral part.
He is a member of the church of England, a requirement for chairing the commission although incompatible with the democratic principle that public offices be open to all citizens regardless of beliefs.
In the words of Wikipedia Evans “is a Christian. He was raised as a Baptist and attended the Christian Union while at university. As of 2024, he is a member of the Church of England”.
The appointment was approved by Charles Windsor, who is designated as “king” in Britain’s feudal setup. Mr Windsor is the “Supreme Governor” of the state church and had to approve Ms Mullally’s promotion.
Ms Mullally has been given the top job in the state institution following what the Financial Times describes as “the Church of England’s failure to halt years of sexual and physical attacks carried out by a child abuser associated with the institution”.
In its most recent interference in democratic process the state church has been using its legislators to deny Britons the choice of assisted dying as it does not comply with church ideology. Ms Mullally supports this affront to democratic and human rights.