The Anglican Church is considering whether or not to refer to God in a non-gendered language during religious services.

For over a millenia, Christians have referred to God as “He/Him.” The prayer “Our Father” also assumes that the gender of the Supreme Being is a male.

What is the Anglican Church

The Church of England has over 85 million members, the third largest Christian community in the world after the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church.

As a Protestant church, the Anglicans are viewed as one of the more progressive sects of Christianity. It allowed the ordination of women and gay priests.

Historical records show that the Church asserts that it equally adheres to the Catholic and Reformed faiths. It attaches to the beliefs that can be found in early Christian doctrines, such as the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed. 

General Synod

The General Synod, the Church’s highest decision-making body, convened in London this week. They debated on major issues such as the proposal to allow the blessing same-sex couples. 

The Anglicans had earlier maintained that marriage is only between a man and a woman.

During the Synod debate, Rev. Joanna Stobart reportedly put the idea of having a gender-neutral reference of God in play by asking the Church to consider “more inclusive language.”

He asked Rt. Rev. Dr. Michael Ipgrave, Bishop of Lichfield and vice chairman of the church’s Liturgical Commission, for update on whether he could “provide more options for those who wish to use authorized liturgy and speak of God in a non-gendered way, particularly in authorized absolutions where many of the prayers offered for use refer to God using male pronouns.”

The British press who followed the Synod debates reported that Ipsgrave announced that the Anglican Church will study this proposal. He said the Liturgical Commission and the Faith and Order Commission “have been exploring the use of gendered language in relation to God for several years.”

God is neither male nor female

In a separate statement, the spokesperson for the Church of England said:

“Christians have recognized since ancient times that God is neither male nor female, yet the variety of ways of addressing and describing God found in scripture has not always been reflected in our worship.”

Dropping the He/Him pronoun

Because of the initiative, it is possible that when the terms are being finalized, the Church of England will soon stop referring to God as He or Him, and even the Lord’s prayer’s notable line “Our Father” could be removed from the said invocation, it said.

But at the moment, there are no changes to the liturgies of the Anglican Church.

“There are absolutely no plans to abolish or substantially revise currently authorized liturgies and no such changes could be made without extensive legislation,” the church said.

Established faith

Some Filipino Gen Z believers minced no words about the proposed gender-neutral terms when offering religious services.

Paulo Blas, 23, who also serves as a member of the Sub-Parish Pastoral Council in Bulacan, believes that tradition, including “how Catholics and all Christians respect the Church” should not be changed just because the society is “getting rid of antiquated practices.”

“I do not agree with this kind of policy because our faith has been established already, and changing how to address God is disrespectful to me,” said Blas in Filipino.

He said that the goal of the Church is not to discriminate but to gather the faithful together.  If the initiative is being implemented, “it may lead to believers leaving the religion.”

This was also the sentiment of Jane De Leon, 23, a Born Again Christian, who noted that the Supreme Being “should not be disrespected” just to satisfy the aim of the few.

“God respects everyone regardless of their status and gender, and as believers, we should also respect the giver of our life,” said De Leon.