Church 'is on the brink of extinction': Ex-Archbishop George Carey warns of Christianity crisis



Lord Carey said Church of England is at risk if 'urgent' action is not taken

He warned Church could be just one generation away from extinction

The 78-year-old Reverend laid the blame at the feet of Church leaders

He said should they be 'ashamed' of their failure to bring youngsters in

Lord Carey's stark message has been echoed by the Archbishop of York

The former Archbishop stepped down from Lambeth Palace in 2002

We ought to be ashamed: Reverend Dr George Carey said the Church had failed to invest in younger generations and now risked extinction

The Church of England is just 'one generation away from extinction', the former Archbishop of Canterbury said yesterday.

Lord Carey laid the blame at the feet of Church leaders who he said should be 'ashamed' of their failure to bring youngsters into their services.

His stark message was echoed by the Archbishop of York, who told the General Synod that compared to the need to attract new worshippers, 'everything else is like re-arranging furniture when the house is on fire'.

The Most Reverend John Sentamu told the Synod – where leaders will debate how to persuade traditionalists to accept women bishops – that they spent too long 'arguing over words and phrases, while the people of England are left floundering amid meaninglessness, anxiety and despair'.

Lord Carey, who stepped down from Lambeth Palace in 2002, remains among the most high-profile campaigners for Christianity in the country.

He said: 'We ought to be ashamed of ourselves. We are one generation away from extinction – if we do not invest in young people there is going to be no one in the future.'

The series of high-level warnings about a looming crisis comes at a time when Christian belief and the Church of England appear under attack on a number of fronts.

Recent census figures have shown a decline of more than 10 per cent in a decade in numbers of people who call themselves Christian, and the courts have rejected a series of pleas from Christians for respect from the law for their beliefs.

Last month one of the country's most senior judges delivered a further blow. President of the Family Division Sir James Munby declared the courts are not Christian and 'the days are past when the business of judges was the enforcement of morals or religious beliefs'.

Ministers – who ignored the CofE's objections to same-sex marriage – have gone so far as to threaten the autonomy of the Church of England by hinting that the Government will intervene to force its hand if it cannot bring itself to approve the appointment of women bishops.

Lord Carey's warning was delivered in a speech at Holy Trinity Church in Shrewsbury as part of the Shropshire Churches Conference 2013.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, pictured here speaking at Lambeth Palace in London, said: 'The issue of how we support each other, and how we understand and confront violent attacks is certainly one of the greatest of our age' Facing decline: Members of the General Synod of the Church of England stand during a meeting at Church House in central London The Most Reverend John Sentamu told the Synod that they spent too long 'arguing over words and phrases

'I am convinced that churches can grow, must grow and should grow,' he told his audience. However, he said that going to church 'is not something that is natural to people in their lives nowadays'.

But he added: 'There is so much violence, too many divided families, too little job security, too many young people with nothing to aim for. It is still the case that people are essentially looking for spiritual fulfilment.'

The warning from Dr Sentamu came in a document – also approved by the current Archbishop of Canterbury The Most Reverend Justin Welby – that spelled out the real danger of the Church's collapse to the Synod, the CofE's parliament.

Ignored youth: Lord Carey said that sitting in 'a cold church' is not interesting to young people and the church should make a bigger effort to involve them

Their paper spoke of a 'growing wariness and antipathy towards faith', adding: 'Put simply, fewer clergy are now ministering to a larger population and having to oversee a roughly similar number of buildings with fewer worshippers to pay for them.

'Further significant decline would make it impossible to maintain the Church of England as a national institution, which is present in every community.'

Church of England Sunday congregations are running at half the numbers of the 1960s, and over the past two decades Roman Catholic churchgoing has seen a similar decline.

Christian numbers are rising fast in some parts of the world, notably in Africa. Worldwide, the Anglican churches have between 70 and 80 million followers – many of whom look to the Church of England for a lead.

However Christian churches are under pressure from Islam, particularly in West Africa, and persecution and violence in parts of the Middle East and Pakistan.