Church of England rethinking gendered pronouns for God

The Church of England's governing body, the General Synod, met in London and discussed topics including gender-neutral language for God and same-sex marriage.

The church said it would launch a new commission on the matter. Any potential changes would have to be approved by the synod.

Anglican Dean of Melbourne, The Very Reverend Dr Andreas Loewe told ACM that God has no gender.

"God is neither male or female. The Bible tells us that humankind are created in God's image, as 'male and female'," he said.

"Certainly since the 1990s, Anglican liturgies have provided alternatives to gendered language, for example using 'Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier' instead of the traditional 'Father, Son and Holy Spirit' when speaking of the Holy Trinity.

"The church's teaching on God the Creator does not change. God has no gender. But God's Son, Jesus Christ, is undoubtedly male."

In 2018 the Episcopal Church, an American branch of the Church of England, revised its prayer book so that God was no longer referred to by masculine pronouns.

In Christian denominations God is often referred to by masculine pronouns in texts and prayers, including the central prayer 'Our Father'.

Theological scholars have long argued that God transcends gender and that female imagery and language is used to described God throughout the bible.

In the Christian Old Testament, the Book of Isaiah states likens relationship between God and humankind to 'a mother comforting her child'.

In the Book of Genesis women and men are created in the "Imago Dei," image of God, which suggests that God transcends socially constructed notions of gender.

"It's entirely in keeping with Biblical teaching to compose prayers that emphasise the motherly care of God, complementing Jesus' Lord's Prayer, which teaches us to call on God as Father," Dean Andreas said.

"The idea that God is neither male nor female, and can be experienced as a loving parent as father and mother, is not new."

IN OTHER NEWS:

The synod also voted in favor of a policy that would allow priests to recognize same-sex unions with acts such as prayers.

However, the church will continue to block same-sex couples from marrying in its churches.

According to the 2021 Australian census, from 2016 to 2021, Anglican affiliation had the largest drop in numbers of all religious denominations, from 3.1 million to 2.5 million people.

This was a decrease of nearly one in five Anglicans from 13.3 per cent to 9.8 per cent of the population.

The average age of people with an Anglican affiliation in 2021 was 56 years, compared with 47 years for Christians overall.