The Anglican minister shared why he felt that society has been "chasing wokeness," taking the church along with it.
Calvin Robinson, a prominent British TV presenter who is also an Anglican minister-in-training, recently opened up about how the Church of England rejected him to serve in a church because he spoke out against critical race theory and raised concerns about how Marxist ideology has been infiltrating the denomination. Robinson clarified that despite commenting on hot-button culture war issues, he makes sure that he speaks on these topics from a faith-based perspective.
"Our society is running down the wrong direction, and it has, for the last few years, been chasing wokeness," Robinson told "Triggernometry" hosts Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster. "Unfortunately, I believe the Church is also going down that path in so many ways."
Robinson took issue with how churches closed down during the COVID pandemic, a time when people needed spiritual guidance. The Anglican minister also criticized the Church of England for embracing critical race theory, which he vehemently opposes.
Robinson's Lived Experience Did Not Align with the Church of England
Critical race theory involves prioritizing the "lived experiences" of ethnic minorities, Robinson explained. However, when he shared his own experience as an ethnic minority, the Church of England's leaders did not openly accept it, describing his perspective as "the wrong type," because it was not aligned with their progressive views, the Christian Post reported.
Robinson said it was condescending of the leaders of the Church of England to say so. The fact that church leaders rejected his views on various issues as a person who is part of the ethnic minority was revealing for the Anglican minister. He said that it was now clear that the church leaders did not want to hear his views on various issues, including his opposition to the Church of England believing that it is "institutionally racist." This accusation has only grown since 2017, but Robinson argued that studies about the Church and England and race revealed that the church is not in fact institutionally racist.
Robinson argued as well that critical race theory creates a new type of original sin in which only white people are morally culpable of such errors, which is contrary to the Scripture's teachings. He explained, "The Christian idea is that we're united, that our identity is in Christ. It's not in our immutable characteristics. Our skin color is relevant. The church has really doubled down."
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Church of England 'Silenced' Calvin Robinson
Robinson lamented that leaders of the Church of England were communicating with each other behind his back to prevent him from continuing his ministry work. He recounted how towards the end of his training, he was poised to become an assistant priest at a parish, but the position was taken away, the Church Times reported. When he confronted church leadership about it, they said it would be "too turbulent" for the Anglican minister because people might not welcome his views.
This led Robinson to conclude that the Church of England rejected him because he did not believe that the church was institutionally racist. He also criticized theologically liberal elites within the church for controlling the narrative in the media.
"The Church shouldn't be trying to chase societal norms ... on any of these issues," Robinson concluded. "To put it scripturally, [the church] should be a shining light in an ever-darkening world around us."
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