In his Against Establishment: An Anglican Polemic, Theo Hobson points to some hidden reasons why some fear disestablishment for the Church of England: “In a permissive society, the established Church is necessarily a permissive Church; otherwise it advocates social policies at odds with the law of the land and becomes a revolutionary sect. This is why many liberals fear disestablishment, despite knowing in their hearts it is right: it would jeopardize the Church’s commitment to the liberal values of the cultural mainstream.”
Now that is Constantinianism, and a great argument for disestablishment. Any church lacking the anatomical equipment to risk becoming a “revolutionary sect” deserves to be as marginal as possible.
Indeed. It's long been noted that the revisionists in the Communion absolutely love the trappings of the church but bow fawngingly to whatever spirit of the age is blowing.
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