Third of clergy doubt resurrection

A third of Church of England clergy have doubts about the resurrection of Christ, according to a new survey.

And only half are convinced of the truth of the virgin birth, the poll of nearly 2,000 clergy found.

The survey, by Christian Research, found doubts are greatest among the liberal wing of the Church, which represents about one in eight of the clergy.

Two-thirds of liberal clergy surveyed expressed doubts about whether Christ rose from the dead and three-quarters were unconvinced by the virgin birth. Doubts were also higher among female clergy. Of the small sample polled, just over half believed in the resurrection and a third in the virgin birth.

The Rev Robbie Low, of Cost of Conscience, a traditionalist organisation which commissioned the survey, said: "There are clearly two Churches operating in the Church of England: the believing Church and the disbelieving Church. It is an intolerable situation where the faithful are increasingly being led by the unfaithful."

But clergy are more orthodox on other Church of England doctrines. More than three-quarters accept the Holy Trinity and a similar proportion believe that Christ died to rid the world of sin. More than 80 per cent expressed faith in the idea that God the Father created the world.

The representative sample of clergy from 4,000 churches also showed that a quarter of them are "implacably opposed" to women bishops.