Archbishop's views on Brexit and welfare are opposite to most Anglicans, poll suggests

The Archbishop of Canterbury’s views on welfare and Brexit do not reflect those of ordinary Anglicans, research has found.

A study found that the majority of Church of England Christians supported Brexit, with 66 per cent of Anglicans voting Leave, compared to a national average of 53 per cent. 

The research, published in the journal Religion, State and Society, found that Church of England Christians were unpersuaded by their bishops, who were overwhelmingly Remain-leaning. 

Identifying as Anglican is "an important independent predictor of voting Leave even when other relevant factors like age and region are corrected for", the paper, by Greg Smith, of the William Temple Foundation and Linda Woodhead, professor of Politics, Philosophy and Religion at Lancaster University, concluded. 

In June Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, described the European Union as "the greatest dream realised for human beings since the fall of the Western Roman Empire". 

Ahead of the 2016 referendum the Archbishop said he would vote to remain in the EU, warning of economic damage and "succumbing to our worst instincts".

The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, also voted remain, writing in the Daily Telegraph shortly before the referendum that staying in the EU was more likely to "lead to mutual flourishing and to encourage peace". 

Just one Church of England bishop, Mark Rylands, Bishop of Shrewsbury, is on record as supporting Brexit, the paper says. 

Figures also suggest that Anglicans are at odds with their Archbishop on welfare spending, argued the authors in a blog post published by the LSE. 

The article suggests that Anglicans "take a positive view of English culture and ethnicity, and regard the EU as a threat to their heritage, values, identity and parliamentary sovereignty". 

The pair argue that British evangelicals have a more "global, cosmopolitan outlook" than their American counterparts, and Welby's views "reflect the views of British evangelicalism more generally". 

Nick Baines, bishop of Leeds

Earlier polls carried out by Professor Woodhead in 2013 show that Church of England Christians are centre-Right politically, but liberal in terms of personal morality, and take a negative view of the EU, with a quarter stating that they can see "no benefit at all" in being a member. 

Active churchgoers, a small group among those who identify as Anglicans, are more likely to say they voted Remain, but are still in a minority. 

Separate polling carried out for the Westminster Faith Debates four years ago found that 60 per cent of Anglicans think the welfare budget is too high. 

In a recent speech to launch an IPPR report the Archbishop of Canterbury argued that higher taxes were needed to improve society.  

In this week's Church Times Nick Baines, the bishop of Leeds, who leads on Europe for the Lord Spiritual, said church leaders should "tell the truth" about Brexit regardless of “what people think they want to hear". 

He added: "Having been involved in the detail of the legislation, and having listened to hours of debate, I can see Brexit turning out only to be bad for the country — especially for the poorest communities — and bad for Europe."