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The campaign for the disestablishment of the Welsh Anglican Church: a study in political intrigue and popular frustration / DAVID JONES

Swansea University Author: DAVID JONES

DOI (Published version): 10.23889/Suthesis.53057

Abstract

The significance of the campaign to seek the disestablishment of the Anglican Church in Wales, and the outcome of that struggle has, in the context of modern Welsh history, either been forgotten or has been regularly misrepresented. Consideration of the campaign to disestablish the four Welsh dioces...

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Published: Swansea 2019
Institution: Swansea University
Degree level: Doctoral
Degree name: Ph.D
Supervisor: Parry, Gwynedd R.
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa53057
Abstract: The significance of the campaign to seek the disestablishment of the Anglican Church in Wales, and the outcome of that struggle has, in the context of modern Welsh history, either been forgotten or has been regularly misrepresented. Consideration of the campaign to disestablish the four Welsh dioceses of the Church of England could be dismissed as seemingly irrelevant, particular in an increasingly secular world. Two factors should militate against such treatment: its significance as a key political issue and the fact that, despite popular and constant demand within Wales, as expressed through the electoral process, the campaign was to last for at least half a century. The longevity of the struggle has inordinate significance, in terms of what it says about the development of democracy in Wales. The objective is to re-examine the campaign for the disestablishment of the Church of England in Wales in its widest context, attempting to understand how the campaign impacted upon aspects of Welsh politics and identity. The thesis will also examine whether the form of disestablishment which was eventually delivered in 1920, as a result of the Welsh Church Act 1914, and subsequent amending legislation, bore any resemblance to what had been fought for or whether, in reality, the Welsh Anglican Church was disestablished, de jure, but not de facto. It is argued that if any party can be lauded as a victor of that prolonged campaign, then that accolade should be awarded to the efforts of the Church defenders who were successful in ensuring that the event described as disestablishment was delayed and attenuated to such an extent that it was of no substantive consequence. This was in the context of the actions of those secular politicians who, although they ostensibly supported disestablishment, exhibited an ineffectiveness which almost caused disestablishment to be lost.
Keywords: disestablishment, Wales, history, Church
College: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

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