Church of England Encourages Parishes to Develop ‘Racial Injustice’ Action Plans

The Rev. Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Bishop of Dover, during a service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle in Berkshire. on June 22, 2023. Andrew Matthews/PA Wire

The Church of England passed a motion to “further embed racial justice” into every aspect of the church, encouraging parishes to develop action plans “to address issues of racial injustice.”

The General Synod passed the motion on Sunday, with 364 in favour, none against, and two abstentions.

The Church of England overwhelmingly backed “the need to further embed racial justice in the life and practice of our Church” and recommended that Dioceses “give priority to the collection, monitoring and measuring of relevant data, and encourage parishes and deaneries to develop local action plans to address issues of racial injustice.”

The motion was put forward by Bishop of Dover, Rev. Rose Hudson-Wilkin, who said the church “must continue to work at embedding racial justice in all its life and structures,” which must include the allocation of resources, “both in the form of people, finance and governance.”

People Are Threatened by ‘Woke’

In a speech introducing her motion, Ms. Hudson-Wilkin criticised government ministers and the media for its use of the word “woke.”

She told the Synod: “When it comes to the topic of racial justice, I’ve heard the word ‘woke’ being bandied about by many people including government ministers, certain radio presenters, those in the media. And in every case, they’ve used it incorrectly.

“The term woke originated in the USA, and it was a black terminology speaking specifically and directly to black people regarding the need to wake up and stay alert, to be consciously aware.”

“So it is not just a mere word, it is a movement. Those who are threatened by the authenticity of this movement, want to scare us into thinking that being woke is a sin created by people on the left,” the bishop said.

Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, who holds a position only second to that of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, also told the gathering on Sunday: “Today, we discuss racial justice. Tomorrow, we will think about how we move forward into the future in response to the church’s involvement in chattel slavery.

“And all of this requires us to be honest about the terrible failings of the past, not to flinch from the failings and challenges of the present, and to build a better future.”

Support for increased monitoring of diversity and embedding “racial justice” into every aspect of church life comes after the archbishops’ Anti-Racism Taskforce published the report, “From Lament to Action.”

Published in 2021, the report called for changes to the “culture” of the Church of England, as well as proposals such as that shortlists for jobs should include at least one ethnic minority candidate and recommended the appointment of full-time “racial justice officers” in every diocese.

Church School Pupils Taught ‘Pyramid of White Supremacy’

In July 2023, Don’t Divide Us (DDU) released a report on third-party organisations promoting radical political ideology in English schools, finding that 48 of them taught critical race theory as fact.

The report noted that teachers in Church of England schools in the Diocese of St. Edmundsbury and Ipswich have been given materials claiming they “benefit from the systematic oppression of People of Colour through racist policies and practice.”

Materials also showed the “white supremacy pyramid,” which claims that “indifference” leads to genocide. Documents also showed another theory of escalating hate, the Allport Scale of Prejudice in Society.

DDU Director and report author Alka Sehgal Cuthbert told The Epoch Times at the time, “What has been concerning is the shallowness and total lack of thinking and what it reveals about the Church Of England education board.”

“What you have here is one of Britain’s oldest and most traditional institutions with incredible responsibility, with diocese and school boards across the nation, and they see no problem at all in endorsing this highly partisan political view, ” Ms. Cuthbert added.

PA Media contributed to this report.