In 1841, John Henry Newman wrote to a Catholic acquaintance: “I do not fear that you will succeed among us; you will not supplant our Church in the affections of the English nation.” He emphasised that he hoped for a consolidation of the branches of the Church, but could not imagine an England without Anglicanism, nor of course did he think to consider a multicultural Catholicism alongside a majority of non-religious people and a sizable Muslim minority.
When I was confirmed in the Church of England in 2002, there still seemed something permanent about Anglicanism. England’s affection for its established religion lingered not only in all the old buildings; there were still plenty of people cycling to Evensong, and the Archbishop of Canterbury had interesting things to say on Thought for the Day and Newsnight. Secularism seemed strong, but not invincible; English Catholicism was interesting, but not compelling.
