Dropping the Word "Church"

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

The First Amendment of the US Constitution prevents the government from creating or establishing a religion, and thereby guarantees religious freedom to all US citizens. The First Amendment protects the right of the individual to worship or to not worship. However, the separation of church from state does not require a separation of religious conversation, signs, signals or language from politics.

On the other hand, diverse religions have been protected by the state in many countries. Examples of state religions include The Church of England, Lutheranism in the Scandinavian countries, Roman Catholicism in Italy and Spain, Judaism in Israel, Islam in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iran, and Buddhism in Thailand.

In the 16th century, Catholic and Reformed churches vied for state sponsorship. The principle Cuius regio, eius religio (state follows the ruler's religion) somewhat ameliorated the unrest, but rulers often put political interests above religious convictions. It was written that "an Established Church is only a political machine." (Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Chapter XVIII)

At best, the mutual support of Church and State can help to preserve a religious tradition. At worst, it can become tyrannical and exclusionary. This happens when the leaders of both Church and State do not uphold Church dogma or retain the meaning of words. Some suspect that the recent study called "New Things: A theological investigation into the work of starting new churches across 11 dioceses in the Church of England" reflects this condition. The study was conducted by the Centre for Church Planting Theology and Research in Durham. 

The Reverend Dr. Will Foulger is the main author of the report. He has been vicar at St Nicholas' Church in Durham since September 2023. His parish website identifies the church simply as "St Nic's Durham." Prior to September 2023, Foulger taught theology and mission in Durham, and gained experience in church planting in Nottingham.

According to the study, words like "community" and "congregation" were preferred over the word "church." Even though more than 900 new C of E congregations were established by 11 dioceses in the past 10 years, none of them used the word “church plant” or “church.”

According to Dr Foulger, the findings of the new report may suggest language change is “forcing us to redefine what we think a church is in the Church of England.”

Dr. Giles Fraser, vicar of St. Anne's in Kew, expressed to the Telegraph that the sudden drop of the term "church" reflects "a misplaced desire to be relevant and modern-sounding."

A Tempest in a Teapot?

Ultimately, it is certain that the Church of England will never change its name. It will never be called the "Community of England" or the "Congregation of England" because those designations are meaningless. 

Would the disestablishment of the Church halt the trend of seeking to be culturally relevant? If the USA experiment is a measure, the answer must be no. In the USA, there is no shortage of nontraditional names for Christian congregations.

Speaking of his Messianic Christian congregation, Ben Frostad, explains, "You may have noticed that I avoid using the word 'church' to describe the corporate body of believers in Messiah."

In New Hampshire, an example involves two congregations simply called "Converge." One is located in Lebanon and the other in New London.

"Gather Asheville" doesn't use the word "church" when talking about themselves, said the lead pastor, Rev. John Redwine.

Fr David Epps has observed, "in order to market the church, the very word, 'church' is often dropped altogether." Among the new nomenclatures are words such as fellowship, world outreach center, chapel, ministry, and tabernacle.

In a time when the indeterminate label "woke" is often applied to studies, proposals, theories, religious trends and politics, it is wise to investigate matters for oneself. Having done so, I conclude that the uproar over the "New Things" study will fade as quickly as the next uproar appears.