Daniel Gover on the Archbishop of Canterbury in Contemporary English Politics

Daniel Gover, Turbulent Priests? The Archbishop of Canterbury in Contemporary English Politics (London: Theos, 2011).

Commenting on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s recent well-publicised guest editorial in New Statesman, Paul Bickley of Theos writes:

‘[I]f Rowan Williams’ editorial is a “sustained attack” on anything, it is on an impoverished political culture as a whole, where radical solutions are being pursued outside of proper political debate – and, crucially, of opposition... There is, in all this, a peculiar assurance for the Church of England which, though established, has evidently not been made captive to the interests of the state as some like to claim. The Church remains eminently capable of voicing the “fear and anger” of the ordinary man on the street. It is not, as detractors of establishment would imply, simply a source of civil religion and legitimation for whatever policy is either necessary or appealing.’

At the same time, Theos announced the publication of a new substantial report by Daniel Gover – Turbulent Priests? The Archbishop of Canterbury in Contemporary English Politics – examining the political interventions of Rowan Williams, George Carey and Robert Runcie since 1979.

Based on research carried out for his MPhil dissertation, Gover covers issues ‘as wide ranging as asylum, criminal justice, military conflict and church schools’, seeking to answer the question: ‘does the Archbishop of Canterbury contribute a moral voice in support of the common good that is much needed in contemporary British politics?’