ABSTRACT
Emerging from a period of relative social stability, the Church of England faced challenges on many fronts during the 1960s. Theologically, the decade was a time of uncertainty, as familiar doctrines and teachings came into question. Socially and politically, the State confronted the issues of abortion, homosexuality, contraception, pornography, and capital punishment, as well as divorce. The Archbishop of Canterbury who guided the Church through these turbulent years was Michael Ramsey. A respected theologian, he had served as Bishop of Durham and Archbishop of York before becoming Archbishop of Canterbury. Ramsey believed that Establishment had the effect of ‘enfolding the Church in the whole life of the community’. 1 Accordingly, in confronting the dramatic social changes of the 1960s, Ramsey proved to be an activist Archbishop who was determined that the Church of England would not be ignored in the legal responses to those changes. In particular, he played an influential role in the debates on divorce.
