The Crisis of Colonial Anglicanism
Empire, Slavery and Revolt in the Church of England
This book offers a bold and unsettling truth: the British Empire and Great Britain are primarily English constructions, and the Church of England benefited from English enterprise and exploitation, serving as the spiritual arm of the imperial project. English Anglicanism has cast itself as the lead character in its own 'serious fiction' – the main religious player in a drama of Church and Empire.
Yet, in collusion with colonialism, it is now trapped by historical amnesia. Martyn Percy examines the English interests concealed in appeals to Britishness, showing how slavery, exploitation, classism and racism upheld elitist and hierarchical worldviews that bolstered both Empire and Church. By viewing the rest of the world as lesser, both institutions have declined in global standing, now reduced to minor national players on the world stage.
Religious, social and political imperialism thrived on deprecating others, but those once marginalised have fought for equality and independence. Today, the worldwide Anglican Communion faces a new era of moral reckoning.
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.
