By Dr Joanne M Pierce, PhD, College of The Holy Cross — The Conversation, 16 September 2022
Queen Elizabeth II made dialogue with non-Anglican Christian churches and non-Christian religious communities a priority during her reign, recognising the increasing reality of Great Britain as a multi-faith nation. To appreciate the significance of her efforts, it is necessary to understand the complicated history of these religions in The United Kingdom. Since the 16th century, English and British monarchs have held the title Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of The Church of England. Since 1689, Catholics have been forbidden from ascending to the throne, a law that remains in force today. In 1290, King Edward I expelled all Jews from the kingdom; they were not allowed to return until the 17th century.
In the early decades of the 20th century, British monarchs began to adopt a more tolerant attitude. Queen Elizabeth II went significantly further. In 1951, two years before taking the throne, she met privately with Pope Pius XII — almost 400 years after Queen Elizabeth I was officially excommunicated. She had private audiences with Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II, facilitated an official state visit with Pope John Paul II in 1980, hosted Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, and met Pope Francis at The Vatican in 2014. In 2011 she became the first reigning monarch to visit the Republic of Ireland, described as one of the “most significant” acts of her reign. She also participated in Holocaust commemorations and visited memorials. In 2012, Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks called the queen the “Defender of all Britain’s Faiths,” writing that “no one does interfaith better than the Royal Family, and it begins with the Queen herself.” This article has been republished under Creative Commons licence.