11 - ‘A sort of official duty to reconcile’: Archbishop Fisher, the Church of England and the politics of British decolonization in East and Central Africa

Summary

Most discussion of Anglicanism and politics in the twentieth century has focused on domestic British concerns, although the degree to which foreign and defence policy also sometimes served to pit senior Anglicans against the British state is well known. In contrast there has been less analysis of the politics of the domestic Church of England and the state in relation to colonial issues. This essay shows how Geoffrey Fisher, archbishop of Canterbury from 1945 to 1961, became involved to a striking extent in the politics both of British decolonization and of British colonies. It does this with reference to two locations in East and Central Africa during the late 1950s and early 1960s: Uganda and the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, commonly referred to as the Central African Federation.

While Fisher's archiepiscopate is regarded as notable for his administrative talents and reform of canon law, his political activities have been judged less effective, certainly in comparison to those of his predecessors Cosmo Lang and William Temple, under whose leadership the Church's ability to guide public opinion on matters of presumed ‘national’ importance is held to have peaked. Simon Green argues that Fisher's opposition to the liberalization of marriage laws and the introduction of premium bonds only made him ‘look politically silly’ while his involvement in national debate over nuclear weapons is deemed ill-judged. By incorporating analysis of two striking instances of Fisher’s involvement in colonial politics and policy-making, this essay helps to fill out our understanding of the politics of Church and state under Fisher. Because his involvement in both Uganda and Central Africa became the occasion for interesting self-reflection, it also gives us a window into how the archbishop understood his own position with respect to the state. I argue that Fisher’s involvement in the politics and policy-making of decolonization exemplifies his attempts to fulfil what he regarded as the obligations of his office as head of the established Church of England. He aligned himself with the British state, while also promoting reconciliation and seeking to offer moral leadership. But the rise of anti-colonial nationalism and Britain's retreat from empire created situations which – although Fisher would not have recognized this – saw him depart from his own self-proclaimed position of mediation and neutrality.