the demise of democracy

The Anglican Church, the greatest of all Protestant churches, is in chaos. By the early sixteenth century, Christian doctrine had been built slowly for centuries with contributions from some of the best minds of humanity. The Pope was then and remains to this day its ultimate keeper. Protestantism removed Christian doctrine from under the authority of the Pope and put it in the hands of the people.

Soon, each man would find reasons to interpret Christian doctrine according to his own tastes, interests, passions and fancies. At first, Protestantism was able to group men around several different leaders and institutional churches. But it should have been clear from the outset that in the longer run no institutional church would resist the logic of Protestantism. The ultimate fate of Protestantism would be for each man to uphold his own Christian doctrine and to have his own church at home.

The demise of the Anglican Church illustrates how dangerous it is to put up for discussion by the common people important matters of doctrine. Chaos and destruction is what is to be expected. Just compare it with the rock-solid strength of the Catholic Church. In the fate of the Anglican Church I see much more than a religious episode - I see the demise of democracy in the country of its own birth.