Electronic exodus
Anglicans leaving Twitter for Bluesky is just a craving for liberal respectability
Imagine there’s no Twitter, it’s easy if you try, no trolls below us, above us only Bluesky. Or, for those who prefer the BCP — I am the LORD thy bishop, which have brought thee out of the land of Elon, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other social media platforms before me. Yes, turn your bibles to Exodus, for the Church of England is departing Twitter for the promised land of Bluesky.
A number of Anglican dioceses have recently made the decision to leave Twitter, announcing that those wishing to continue receiving updates on social media would need to do so from different platforms, including the progressive Twitter alternative Bluesky. Some, like Winchester, left everyone guessing as to why. Bristol, meanwhile, announced that “As a Diocese, we felt growing discomfort about the current direction of the platform and its negative effect on members of our clergy and our wider diocesan community and have concluded that it no longer aligns with our values.”
The appearance of liberal respectability is considered a bigger deal than the destruction of young minds and lives
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There’s plenty to object to on Twitter, of course, but just what the modern day Church of England finds morally intolerable, and what it doesn’t, is highly illustrative. Bristol is certainly desperate to please its progressive parishioners, declaring a “climate emergency” in 2019, and removing monuments to those linked to the slave trade in 2020. Indeed so passionate was the radical feeling that one local priest attempted to deface Magna Carta on behalf of Just Stop Oil. Rather less enthusiasm was shown when it came to dealing with John Smyth, who was educated at the evangelical Trinity theological college in Bristol. Apparently nobody in the diocese or at the college, including then principal George Carey, knew anything about his abuse. This despite the fact, as found by Keith Makin in his independent report, that multiple dioceses had rejected Smyth, and his utter unsuitability, and possibly even his abuse, was known. Yet Bristol, and its flagship theological college, let the wolf in the door.
And it is Winchester, which so coyly departed Twitter for Bluesky, where much of Smyth’s worst abuse was perpetrated. Winchester was one of the dioceses that had earlier blocked his ordination, strongly implying they knew he was unsuitable for ministry. Despite this fact, the diocese allowed him unfettered access to Winchester College, where at least 16 boys were viciously abused, and he continued to act as a lay reader, a position which lent him credibility and helped give him access to his victims.
It may just be a coincidence that two of the dioceses most implicated in Smyth’s abuse chose to leave Twitter at a time when outrage at child abuse cover-ups was surging across the platform, without censorship or concern for political correctness — but it certainly isn’t, as they say, a “good look”.
Not only is this great retreat from Twitter occurring amidst historic abuse coming to light, it is also coming at a time when the governance of the Church is under question. As a recent Civitas report has revealed, the Church of England has allowed parish ministry to wither, whilst spending hundreds of millions on administrative staff and centralised initiatives like “Strategic Mission” and “Vision and Strategy”. In both the case of abuse and misgovernance, there is a shared thread — a desperate desire for respectability, even at the expense of faith.
Bristol’s corporate language of “values” reflects an ethical universe that has more in common with the vacuous nonsense of the “charitable sector” than it does with the leadership of a living religious tradition. Nor should this come as a surprise, when Bristol retains a staff of eight “external relations” managers (none of whom appear to be ordained), not to mention three “racial justice officers”.
The exit from Twitter reflects a trend of establishment, left-liberal NGOs deciding that the platform has become too identified with the populist right since Musk’s takeover. Whilst there are many unpleasant and offensive opinions to be found on Twitter, it is worth noting what social media platforms Bristol is not leaving.
As we enter a New Year, and look to our future, we have made a conscious decision to stop using X at the Diocese of Bristol. Read more about why below. pic.twitter.com/9Ti81ntxTd
— Diocese of Bristol (@bristoldiocese) January 6, 2025
They can still be found on Facebook, a company which Amnesty International claims allowed genocidal propaganda to be shared about the Rohingya people in Myanmar, contributing to the deaths and displacement of thousands. Bristol is still happy to post on Instagram, which the NSPCC has named as the single worst platform for the grooming of children online. Nor do they seem to have any moral issue with being on TikTok, which has been identified as a major factor in worsening the mental and physical health of teenagers, including encouraging deadly eating disorders, not to mention the fact that the China-based site represents a threat to national security.
Obviously being on any of these platforms does not represent an endorsement of every use and abuse made of them by others — so why is Twitter the exception? It looks an awful lot like offensive speech, and the appearance of liberal respectability is considered a bigger deal than the destruction of young minds and lives. Rather than evangelising every corner of the internet, the Church of England’s leaders have instead become modern day Pharisees, asking “Why tweeteth your Master with publicans and sinners?”
