THE status of the church under an alliance with the state is thus described by Mr. Justin McCarthy, M. P., who is a leading figure in English politics. He speaks of the Established Church of England; but any church that receives and accepts state aid puts herself in a position of obligation and subordination to the state differing only in degree from that to which he refers:—
“The plain fact is that if you have a state church, a church established, privileged, and endowed by the state, all those who make a living and an income out of the church, who enjoy the privileges and aspire to the dignities the state church affords, must obviously be bound to submit to the conditions on which alone a state church can be maintained. The Established Church in England is the creation of the state. It is, as John Stuart Mill put it, a branch of the civil service. It is maintained by the Crown and by Parliament, and so long as it continues to be a state church it must submit to whatever conditions Parliament and the Crown may be please to impose. The religion of the state church is decreed and dictated by the Imperial Parliament; that is the long and the short of it. The real authority of the Parliament rests with the majority of the House of Commons. Therefore the religion of the state church is decreed by the majority in the House of Commons. There is no way out of the dilemma. You cannot have a state church and at the same time absolute liberty of religious worship.” [770]