The Church of England is considering switching up its religious teachings by changing the pronouns used for God, in a move towards “inclusivity”.
The CoE confirmed that its Liturgical Commission has launched a special project to examine updating future teachings, which will be put in place later this year.
“After some dialogue between the two Commissions in this area, a new joint project on gendered language will begin this spring,” said Rev Dr Michael Ipgrave, Bishop of Lichfield and vice-chair of the liturgical commission responsible for the change. “In common with other potential changes to authorised liturgical provision, changing the wording and number of authorised forms of absolution would require a full Synodical process for approval.”
According to The New York Post, some priests have already made such changes, trading references to “he” and “him” for simply “God” or even “they” and “them”, and rewriting the “Our Father” that starts the Lord’s Prayer to “Our Father and Mother.”
“Christians have recognised since ancient times that God is neither male nor female,” a Church spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters, while also acknowledging that “the variety of ways of addressing and describing God found in scripture has not always been reflected in our worship.”
While the specifics of the project are as yet unclear, some Conservative critics have rebuffed the proposal, with the Rev Dr Ian Paul telling the Telegraph that they would exhibit an abandonment of the Church’s beliefs.
“The fact that God is called ‘Father’ can’t be substituted by ‘Mother’ without changing meaning, nor can it be gender-neutralised to ‘Parent’ without loss of meaning,” Paul said. “Fathers and mothers are not interchangeable but relate to their offspring in different ways.”
The Church of England spokesperson added: “The variety of ways of addressing and describing God found in scripture has not always been reflected in our worship. There has been greater interest in exploring new language since the introduction of our current forms of service in contemporary language more than 20 years ago.
“There are absolutely no plans to abolish or substantially revise currently authorised liturgies, and no such changes could be made without extensive legislation.”
