Half the public view Church of England unfavourably, survey finds
Just under half the British public hold an unfavourable opinion of the Church of England, polling has found. Forty-nine per cent of those surveyed says they held a negative opinion of the Church, a ten point increase since November, when 39% reported a similarly unfavourable view. In the same, period the net unfavorability of the Church more than tripled, from -7 to -24. Eighteen per cent of respondents also said they held a ‘very unfavourable’ view of the Church. Just 25% of respondents said they held a favourable view of the church, a 7 point decrease from November, when 32% reported holding a favourable view. Fifty per cent also said they supported ending the Church of England’s established status, a figure consistent with previous findings. Just 23% said the connection between Church and state should be maintained. The new polling comes amidst an ongoing abuse crisis in the Church of England. In November, Justin Welby resigned as archbishop of Canterbury after a review found he failed to act on reports of abuse by Church of …