'God Is Not Male': Church Of England's Decision To Explore Gender-Neutral Terms Stirs Debate

The Church of England is reviewing the idea of introducing non-gendered terms to refer to God and breaking away from centuries of using masculine references, such as "He" or "Our Father" in prayers and teachings.

Headed by King Charles III, the church said they are launching a "project on gendered language" this spring and would consider the idea of giving God gender-neutral pronouns.

"Christians have recognized since ancient times that God is neither male nor female," a spokesperson for the Church said, as quoted by Reuters. "Yet the variety of ways of addressing and describing God found in scripture has not always been reflected in our worship."

"There are absolutely no plans to abolish or substantially revise currently authorized liturgies, and no such changes could be made without extensive legislation," the spokesperson added.

Some priests have already made such changes by simply saying "God" or replacing "He/Him" pronouns with "They/Them," according to the New York Post. They also do not say "Our Father" but say "Our Father and Mother" while saying the Lord's Prayer.

Liberal Christians have welcomed the idea, but more conservative members of the church have criticized it.

"God is not male. Certainly not the white cis male with a beard, sitting on a cloud we seem to reduce and limit God to so often," the Rev. Chantal Noppen told the U.K. Times, as per the New York Post.

"God is not male or female" or "definable," Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury and leader of the Church of England, previously said, according to the outlet.

"All human language about God is inadequate and to some degree metaphorical," he added.

The Rev. Ian Paul, a member of the Archbishops' Council of the Church of England, criticized the idea of using gender-neutral pronouns for God and said "male and female imagery is not interchangeable."

"The use of male pronouns for God should not be understood as implying that God is male — which is a heresy. God is not sexed, unlike humanity," he reportedly said. "The Bible uses feminine imagery and metaphors of God, but primarily identifies God using masculine pronouns, names and imagery."

"The fact that God is called "Father" can't be substituted by "Mother" without changing meaning, nor can it be gender-neutralized to "Parent" without loss of meaning," Rev. Paul added.

The idea of God being male also allows discrimination and sexism against women to continue, a group called Women and the Church believes, according to the New York Post.

The view that "God is a man" has been used to oppose women bishops, the Rev. Miranda Threlfall-Holmes said, as per the outlet.

Experts also said the debate about God being non-gendered is nothing new.

"Questions around gendered language and God have been around for decades, if not centuries, but still have the power to bring out strong reactions," professor Helen King, vice-chairman of the Synod's gender and sexuality group, told The Telegraph.

"If we dig deeper, clearly God is not gendered, so why do we restrict our language for God in gendered ways?" she added.