Church of England Allows for Women Bishops

By: Amanda Roley

LONDON--July 14, 2014 will be a day marked in history. The women in the Church of England are now able to become bishops.

Charlotte Waters of Cambridge said,“If that’s what she wants to do than good for her, and that’s good for women in general who are in the world of religion.”

The measure passed with the required two-thirds majority vote from the three bodies of the General Synod: The House of Bishops, The House of Clergy, and the House of Laity.

The measure will now go before parliament. If approved, the general synod will make a formal announcement at its next meeting in november. This means the first female bishop could potentially be appointed in the next year. 

Some Londoners believe this progressive decision is long over due. 

“About time. Really, it shouldn’t be a sexual thing, it should be who ever cares and wants to be within that profession or within that lifestyle,” UK resident David Beasley said.

Simon Kilby of Yorkshire is another supporter of the measure. Kilby calls the General Synod’s decision a growing pain of today’s society.

“People get stuck in their ways, you know people are big believers in traditions, religion--whatever that might be,” Kilby said. “That’s absolutely fine, but we’ve gotta move forward, right?”

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby released a statement, following the final vote, in support of women becoming bishops as well saying, “I am delighted with today’s result.”

But there’s also the belief that the traditional roles of men and women should be upheld within society. 

“It’s very important that men and women have the same opportunities, but I think it can still be respected that men take up certain roles,” Waters said. “I think different genders are suited for different things--I just think that sometimes a man might be better at something than a woman.” 

When it comes to gender equality, the question of whether the women will do the job just as good as men tends to arise. 

“Is there any reason why they can’t?” Kilby said. “I don’t see why not. You know if there good enough, then fine, they can do it.” 

The General Synod’s decision to allow women to become bishops comes 20 years after the Church of England ordained the first women priests. It will be interesting to see what historical decision the church will make within the next 20 years.