I read a
Telegraph article on this topic that went by the title ‘Swaziland has a woman bishop
– why not Suffolk?’ It
started with telling the story of how Ellinah Wamukoya became the first female
bishop in Swaziland with the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. People are
bemused at how a country like Swaziland which does not have a particularly good
reputation for being liberal is seemingly ahead of us in terms of liberal
development. Though it does appear to be ridiculous, this comparison does
really not have much relevance to the whole situation and it is probably fair to
say that this is one of the only things in which Swaziland is more liberal in- though
please do correct me if I am wrong.
What will happen in the future? The rules
of the system state that the proposed vote cannot be brought back before 2015.
All this could change and the senior officials if they wish could give
permission for a vote to go ahead despite the written rules. Nothing is set in
stone and although the future seems uncertain both sides of this proposal
agreed that there is a need for urgent talks.It is devastating to think that some women of the Church themselves oppose the introduction of female Bishops. To me, those people devalue women's rights and everything that people have fought for when trying to get equal rights. They believe it is their role to be inferior to men (they don't really put it that way) but they believe that their role is to support their husbands and becoming a Bishop would undermine this concept. Now people are allowed to think what they want but what annoys me is that this view will be passed down to the next generation of the Church of England community unless something changes.
You could
argue that it has very little effect on our lives, especially atheists and
secularists but it represents the flaws in this religious organisation, the
stunted progression of religion. If this religious Church fails to recognise
the need for modernising and updating the Church so it is relevant to society
then the impacts could be more serious than this. At the moment this ‘respectable’ organisation in the words of the Archbishop of
Canterbury himself has “lost a measure of credibility.” Religion at its core is
flawed: ideas, concepts and beliefs need to change and adapt to stay relevant
and not remain constant over decades. I do believe that in the near future the
Church of England will change its mind and adapt to allow women to become
Bishops.
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