How can Christians celebrate what is known as Christmas in their major churches, led by priests, some of whom have betrayed the trust of religion?
How can they preach to people while being immersed in sin? According to an official report, the Church of England—the mother church of the Anglican communion—has covered up "painful physical, sexual, psychological, and spiritual abuses" that occurred over decades in Britain, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. This led, just before Christmas, to the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who expressed profound shame and disgrace.
In an unprecedented shock, the Archbishop of Canterbury in England resigned, marking the first resignation of its kind since the establishment of this position 1,427 years ago. This came after a shocking report revealed the Church’s cover-up of sexual abuses committed by one of its former officials against more than 100 young men and boys. Welby was accused of knowing about the case since 2013 but failing to take decisive action.
His resignation is not merely the end of his career as the highest-ranking cleric in the country and the Anglican communion globally. As one pastor said, “No Archbishop has caused as much harm to the Church since the Reformation.” Victims are also demanding the dismissal of two other bishops involved in the same scandal. (1)
The Archbishop of York, the second-highest-ranking cleric in the Church of England, will take over for a few months in the new year. However, he too faces pressure to resign for mishandling a similar case, where he allowed a priest to remain in office under his leadership, despite knowing the Church had prohibited the priest from being alone with children and had paid compensation for sexual abuse.
Catholics Too
In England and Wales, an independent investigation proved that 3,000 cases of sexual abuse by Catholic priests occurred between 1970 and 2015. Since 2016, 100 cases have been reported annually, with victims suffering immense psychological effects, including guilt, depression, nightmares, PTSD symptoms, self-harm, and a loss of trust in the Church. (2) This has also led to a significant decline in church attendance.
Thousands of cases of Catholic sexual abuse have been reported in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Latin America, Africa, and Asia, with lawsuits and criminal prosecutions against Catholic priests and members of religious orders.
In the U.S., for example, churches have paid over $2 billion in compensation to the families of child victims of abuse within the Church. In Ireland, reports of sexual abuse have shaken both Catholic Church leaders and the state, leading to the resignation of the government. In France, an alarming investigation revealed that 216,000 children have been sexually abused by Catholic priests there since the 1950s. (3)
These incidents have dragged the Church’s reputation through the mud, leaving the Pope himself feeling ashamed. Another report revealed that many priests and bishops in Catholic churches have exploited their religious authority to sexually abuse nuns, rape them, and force them to undergo abortions or use contraception. The report disclosed numerous cases of such abuse in 23 countries, including the U.S., Brazil, the Philippines, India, Ireland, Italy, and even within the Vatican. (4)
The Crisis of Christianity in Britain
Regarding participation trends, the Church of England released its latest statistics for 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic. They showed that most measures of church attendance had gradually declined over 10 years by 20%. The usual weekly attendance on Sundays dropped to 690,000 (87% adults, 13% children under 16). (5)
A study by the Christian Research Foundation indicated that in 20 years, 4,000 churches would face closure, while the number of active and committed Muslims is expected to grow to 3 million—more than three times the expected number of Christians attending Sunday services. (6)
Reasons for the Crisis
Is the cause the historical split between Christianity, science, reason, and life itself? Is it the pressure of material economic life, poor upbringing, or the presence of the Internet, which fills the youth’s void with emptiness? Or is it the youth’s aversion to the irrationality or illogicality of the doctrines of the Trinity and salvation from Adam's sin through the crucifixion of Jesus? Is it the contradictions between different Bible versions and the absence of the original revealed to Jesus? Or the contradictions between various Christian denominations? Or is it the lack of a comprehensive methodology for life in the current teachings?
Linda Woodhead, Professor of Sociology of Religion at Lancaster University, says: "We are witnessing the greatest religious transformation since the Reformation of the 16th century." But why has Britain lost the Christian roots that profoundly shaped its history, culture, and even its welfare state? She answers: "The Church of England and the Church of Scotland are in a state of collapse. The Church has lost its connection to our daily lives and has become inward-looking rather than a broad church for the whole community. It has failed to win the hearts and minds of young people for several generations now." (7)
The challenges facing Christianity continue, and belief in Allah is declining. Only a quarter of Britons (27%) say they truly believe in Allah. (8) According to the latest national census in 2011, 37% of the population of England and Wales do not believe in any religion (up from 25% in the previous census). (9)
Views of Church Leaders
The Archbishop of the Catholic Church in England and Wales stated that Christianity is no longer a source of moral guidance for people’s lives or the government in contemporary society. People now turn to modern movements and environmental advocacy groups as alternatives to religion. He said people find consumerism and shopping a substitute for religious culture, believing that the damage inflicted on the Church is partly due to the sexual scandals involving priests. He added that music and mysterious practices seem to replace Christ as something young people can trust. He affirmed that society is losing some of its moral values, with people turning to false and temporary happiness through alcohol, drugs, and pornography, abandoning religious values. (10)
David Voas, a professor of population studies at the University of Manchester, said: "The problem is that young people do not attend church because they mock those who do. There is a social stigma among them that shames and despises churchgoers." He added: "Muslim youth are different; they see religion as a heritage they are proud of, a matter of identity that is reinforced by their greater commitment than their parents." (11)
The Future Belongs to Islam
Christianity, after being distorted, has become incapable of guiding reason, keeping pace with science, or organizing life. The doctrine of deifying humans and the birth of a son of Allah who dies on the cross clashes with logic. The separation of religion from the state is dualistic, and the lack of Sharia reduces religion to hymns in halls, while the people see the Church’s rituals as unworthy of being a life methodology.
This situation has taken an important turn in Britain with the emergence of Islam as a growing second religion. Muslims are more connected to their religion and mosques (whose number has risen to 2,000) than the entire population is to churches. Islamic preachers are characterized by purity, chastity, and decency, paving the way for Islam’s wide spread, Allah willing. Amid the deteriorating moral and ecclesiastical conditions in Britain, there is a spiritual void and psychological thirst. People need extended, compassionate hands, convincing rational answers, and a clear creed to save them from the flood of materialism and irreligiosity, rescuing them from doubt, loss, and confusion to the light of guidance and safety.
The Church leader has left in disgrace, but the trust in the Church has been irreparably shattered.
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(1) Eastham, Welby quits as sex crisis engulfs more senior clergy, The Daily Telegraph, 13/11/2024.
(2) The Roman Catholic Church abuse investigation report, November 2020.
(3) BBC, Catholic Church child sexual abuse scandal, 5/10/2021
(4) National Catholic Reporter, AIDS exacerbates sexual exploitation of nuns, 16/3/2001.
(5) Church of England Research and Statistics unit, Statistics for Mission 2019.
(6) Christian Research, Religious Trends No 7 (2007/2008(.
(7) Wyatt, “Is the UK still a Christian country?” BBC, 25/5/2015.
(8) YouGov, “A quarter of Britons say they believe in ‘a god’,” 29/12/2020
(9) Office of National Statistics, Religion, England and Wales: Census 2021.
(10) BBC News, Christianity ‘almost vanquished in UK’ 6/9/2001.
(11) Gledhill, “Churchgoing on its Knees as Christianity Falls out of Favour”, The Times, 8/5/2008.
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