UNITED KINGDOM
The New York Times
By ALAN COWELL
Published: January 14, 2013
LONDON — Is it ridiculous to be a Christian in England? Or, to put it another way, are Anglicans increasingly the object of ridicule in the land that enshrined their denomination as the established state church centuries ago?
The answer to the first question relates mostly to faith, or upbringing, or perhaps to the eternal yearning to unlock life’s myriad riddles. But the second is virtually a statement of fact since church leaders in recent weeks became embroiled in doctrinal contortions over gender and sexuality, prompting mockery, outrage and division.
The first ruling came in December when the Church of England voted — narrowly and against the judgment of its priests and bishops — to reject the notion of women’s joining the episcopate, even though the titular supreme governor of the church is a woman: Queen Elizabeth II.
In January, the bishops themselves followed up with a potentially epochal ruling admitting openly gay priests in civil partnerships to their ranks, provided that, unlike heterosexual bishops, they remain celibate. …
Such debates are not limited to the Church of England. Indeed, given the sexual abuse scandals that have roiled the Roman Catholic Church in particular, it is hardly surprising if the view from outside is, as one radio broadcaster observed, that the church is “obsessed with sex.”
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