View source for Anglicanism and Liberalism

==Atheistic Clergy==
The Anglican Communion has been known to employ some [[clergy]] who openly lack a belief in [[God]], or are otherwise highly doubtful and critical of scriptural doctrine. In most cases, this occurs as a result of older clergy losing their faith over time but remaining with the church, which in the case of the Church of England is allowed by technicality due to the church’s governing body rejecting the idea of “heresy trials” (the removal of clergy who fail to adhere to church teachings or practices). <ref>https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/survey-finds-2-of-anglican-priests-are-not-believers-9821899.html</ref>

The history of Anglican clergy outright rejecting scriptural teachings can be traced at least to the 1980s, when [[Bishop]] of Durham David Jenkins caused controversy by publicly casting doubt on the [[virgin birth]] and [[resurrection of Jesus]]<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/06/david-jenkins-bishop-durham-biblical-facts-fire-york-minster</ref>. The issue has only grown since this case, with a 2014 survey suggesting that as many as 16% of Anglican [[priests]] in England are [[agnostic]], with 2% being [[atheists]]. <ref>https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/survey-finds-2-of-anglican-priests-are-not-believers-9821899.html</ref>

While best documented within the Church of England itself, this phenomenon is not limited to the UK and can also be observed within the US [[Episcopal Church]], in which the atheist [[John Shelby Spong]] served as Bishop of [[Newark, New Jersey]] for 21 years, during which he released numerous books attacking established Christian theology, finally ending his tenure with the publication of his book “A New Christianity for a New World”, a work which attacks [[theism]] in favor of a symbolic view of [[God]] and promotes the opinion of a small minority of Biblical scholars that [[Judas Iscariot]] did not exist and was an [[anti-semitic]] creation, among other claims. <ref>https://www.christiancentury.org/reviews/2011-04/new-christianity-new-world-john-shelby-spong</ref>