That Was The Church That Was: How the Church of England Lost the English People

by Andrew Brown, Linda Woodhead

The Church of England still seemed an essential part of Englishness, and even of the British state, when Mrs Thatcher was elected in 1979. The decades which followed saw a seismic shift in the foundations of the C of E, leading to the loss of more than half its members and much of its influence. In England today 'religion' has become a toxic brand, and Anglicanism something done by other people. How did this happen? Is there any way back?

This 'relentlessly honest' and surprisingly entertaining book tells the dramatic and contentious story of the disappearance of the Church of England from the centre of public life. The authors – religious correspondent Andrew Brown and academic Linda Woodhead – watched this closely, one from the inside and one from the outside. That Was the Church, That Was shows what happened and explains why.

Genres: History, Religion, Christianity, British Literature, Sociology, Philosophy, Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published April 7, 2016

Reviews

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brown and Woodhead give an excellent account of the history and sociology of the Church of England, and its place in the Anglican Communion, from the 1980s up to the present. They write from the perspective of well-informed, concerned professionals (one a journalist, the other a sociologist) who have had lots of contact with the Church of England, some at the very highest levels, but who are not part of it. They explore the reasons for the Church's decline and its disappearance from the centre of public life in England; the divisions that have occurred and the issues that lie behind those divisions. A good deal of this has to do with gender equality and toleration (or not) of homosexuality, but there is much much more to it than that - and militant secularism gets hardly a mention.
If this sounds dull, be assured that it is not. Strangely enough, this book is a real page-turner. It is written in a very accessible style, but is intelligent and well-informed (there are copious notes at the end, many citing the sources of quotations). It could be regarded as 'gossipy', but even where sources are not cited, and one suspects a rather personal slant has been expressed, the account has the ring of truth. The authors have clear views on the failings of many individuals in the Anglican Communion and they express them lucidly. In fact, the first edition of the book was pulped, for legal reasons.
Most of the book could be read as a critical expose by people with an axe to grind - but the authors clearly care about the Church of England and are saddened by the mess that it has got itself into, and the final chapter is a sincere attempt to suggest and analyse possible ways forward - in other words, ways to allow the Church of England to survive. As this involves the various factions of the Church respecting each other and working to each other's strengths, this reader doubts that it will happen.

If you have the slightest interest in the Church of England, read this book. If you are put off by the early chapters, go straight to Chapter 11.

[Eoghan Rua · Rating 2 out of 5]

Potentially interesting subject ruined by Brown (a liberal gossip journalist for The Manchester Guardian) and his political leanings. Brown states as his objective, taking a look at the decline of the Church of England and his diagnosis is that English people no longer attend because the CofE and various Archbishops of Canterbury haven't been feminist enough, it isn't rabidly pro-homosexual enough, doesn't promote "global justice" and "social justice" quite enough for his tastes. Because being even more obnoxiously liberal has served the Episcopal Church in the United States so well and in the case of Britain itself, the BBC for example, is so popular among the people for adopting political views shared by Brown, it is not an object of scorn at all. A serious book on the decline of the Church of England is needed, but this isn't it.

[Sam Eccleston · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great read- odd as it sounds, it is a real page turner. Brown and Woodhead outline the personalities and the decisions that they believe have led to the current story of decline. It is a compelling narrative, coming as it does from people with the perspective, effectively, of insiders, within the upper hierarchy of the C. of E. They often write in highly critical terms, on occasion effectively dismissing the entire careers of well-loved figures in the Church. While one can often see what they mean, their discussion fails to include much of the social and cultural context that allows us to understand both the story of the decline and the difficulty with which many of the decisions taken have been made in more detail.

Obviously, had they done so they would have produce a much longer book, but I think it is worth remarking that it is rather unfair to be as critical as they have been without enunciating both the full circumstances of the decisions being taken and offering some suggestions for what ought to have been done instead. Additionally, neither contributing author seems to take seriously the theological convictions at the heart of many of the debates that have shaken the C. of E. over the last century and instead seem to assume, rather oddly, that the Church ought to simply capitulate to changing social mores. This is a very peculiar perspective to adopt; of course, the Church's failure to change may be part of the causal explanation for the decline of the Church, but one wonders how this fact justifies the excoriating tone of much of the discourse of this purportedly explanatory work.

[Hattie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty interesting story about how the church of England, in trying to keep too many groups of people happy, ended up alienating all of them (by both approving progressive policies, but taking far too long to do so). Definitely an opinion piece.
Felt like it could have been more clearly written in places (see the title of the book for example).

"The story we have told is of an England which has changed too much, and a church which has changed too little."

"At their best, churches have led moral change, not lagged behind it, as with civil rights or anti slavery."

"It is very difficult for an organisation to understand that its role in many peoples lives is to be boring and peripheral."

"He had been given the kind of English Middle class education in which mild doses of conventional piety served, like cowpox, to inoculate against disfiguring enthusiasms."

"Leadership is probably not a role that any one person should have, especially in religion."

"The parties of the Church of England were once mass movements… but have now dwindled into clubs for the fanatically like-minded, and for people who enjoy plotting."

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very accurate account of the horrors of the Church of England and not surprisingly its publication was delayed for amendments, to avoid litigation, because the out of touch church has the strength to fight any one who dares to uncover its lid. It fully explains the PR and virtue signalling of the Marxist Welby. Like many others, my spirituality goes elsewhere now.

[Anthony Batterton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and rather disturbing, though sadly not really surprising. Snappy and journalistic. The main flaw of this book is that, though endnotes are provided, they are not indicated in the main text, giving the impression as you read that, outside of personal anecdotes, it is unsourced.

[Harley Wykes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engagingly written sociological and historical account of the causes of the decline of the Church of England in its role as a national church.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Surprisingly dull.

[Matthew Eyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very thought provoking read As someone who loves churches, it has always puzzled me why vicars always seem so indifferent to any such visitor, known as church crawlers. Theirs truly seems to be a kingdom of heaven, for they are completely different from the vicars of my youth who were responsible for the whole parish not just church goers. My sincere advice to anyone reading this, and it goes for most organisations. Allotment Societies are said to be even worse than churches. If you enjoy something, praying, growing leeks, listening to Elvis DON'T join an organisation that purports to celebrate said activity- it will be a cauldron of back-biting

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

I posted on Facebook that reading this book was like watching a train crash in very slow motion. It was a train crash I lived through over the last 30 years described in this book, when of course we witnessed it in even slower real time. It's a disconcerting read, that makes you both laugh out loud and weep over the follies you didn't really understand at the time, and the sheer narrow-minded bigotry of so many of the protagonists. Perhaps God may forgive the conservative Evangelicals who are the villains of the piece in their opposition first to women priests and later to homosexuals. I'm not sure I can.

Peter Berger writes, "Written by a leading journalist and one of the best sociologists of religion in the world today, this account of the recent history of the Church of England is exhaustive, relentlessly honest, not exactly upbeat, but surprisingly entertaining. The authors evidently care about the institution; so do I from outside it. They find a modicum of hope."

'Modicum' seems a bit of an exaggeration to me as I close the last page. I must go back with a bigger magnifying glass.

[Jan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Opinion dressed up as fact. No references. Irritating third person prose. Scurrilous a lot of the time. And women are to blame. As usual.

But interesting theory about HTB church within a church.

[Michael Macdonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent witty analysis

Brilliant assessment of the failings of the Church of England that charts the refusal of senior clergy to respond to change. Funny, charming and important