The Crisis of Colonial Anglicanism

‘Percy argues for the church to come to terms with its ugly past as “spiritual arm of empire.”’

‘A brave, honest and forceful account of the realities of the effect of colonialism on Anglicanism past and present.’

‘Timely … an important book.’

‘An extraordinary exploration of the complex entanglements between the Church of England and the British Empire. Percy critically examines how the Anglican Church served as both a spiritual arm and a moral justification for imperial expansion while grappling with its enduring legacy of complicity in slavery and colonialism. A compelling and enlightening work that promises to shape our understanding of Anglicanism and its future.’

‘A brave, honest and compelling account of the realities of the effect of colonialism on Anglicanism past and present.’

‘A provocative contribution to the scholarship and public debates about colonialism and the postcolonial world order.’

‘If you thought that the days of imperialism and empire were over, Percy’s book shows that the long-term effects are still very much in evidence in the Church of England and that they continue to infect global Anglicanism.’

‘A radical and, in many ways, devastating book. Martyn Percy has examined how disestablishment has become more and more inevitable. The English Church can no longer function as a spiritual empire.’

‘Percy exposes the Church’s monarchical role in conquering and subordinating people the world over and it sacralised complicity with slavery, classism, racism, sexism and homophobia.’

‘A searching use of history for a pre-post-mortem on the Anglican Church that was tied to monarchy and empire from its origins under Henry VIII.’

‘In this important, well-researched, wide-ranging book, Martyn Percy gives an unflinching account of the Anglican Communion. Anyone who is rooting for the future of the Church of England–or Anglicanism in any region of the world–must face this exposition of its imperial and colonial entanglements squarely. As Faulkner warned us: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”’

‘Martyn Percy explores the undisguised classism and unaccountable hierarchy of colonial Anglicanism in new ways. This is a compelling, original, fresh perspective on privilege and the imposition of a self-serving worldview. Ultimately, he shines a searchlight on the contorted governance of episcopacy since Henry VIII.’

Martyn Percy is Provost-Theologian for Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui; Professor of Religion and Culture, University of Saint Joseph, Macao; Research Professor, Institute of Old Catholic Theology, University of Bern; Senior Research Fellow at the James Hutton Institute; and Canon Theologian to the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe. He has written for The Guardian and The Times, and is the only living theologian featured in The Da Vinci Code.