The Anglican Church in North America announced its plans yesterday to create a breakaway church to protest the ordination of an openly gay bishop five years ago. Up to this point, Anglicans in the United States and Canada who objected to homosexuality had allied themselves with churches abroad -- namely, the Anglican Church of Nigeria.
As FP's recent list of the world's top religious powerbrokers explained, Nigerian Bishop Peter Akinola has profited greatly from his status as the world's anti-gay Anglican leader. So today's announcement might sound like bad news to Akinola, who could easily be described as violently anti-gay.
After my time in Nigeria, however, I suspect the opposite. Akinola made waves when he created his own breakaway church in protest against homosexuality; the fact that others are following simply means his movement is catching on. The man behind the split will still retain strong influence among Anglicans.
And perhaps more importantly for Akinola, he is still strong -- and getting stronger -- at home. Akinola's views on homosexuality are wildly popular in Nigeria, where conservative Christian values are in a neck-in-neck competition with convertive Islamic ones for converts. Religious violence flared up last week at the flashpoint of north and south Nigeria (where Islam meets Christianity, to a large extent). Akinola criticized the government for inaction.
Akinola can make a strong case as the founder of the breakaway movements within the Anglican Church. And he can take credit for lashing out against homosexuality in the church. Whatever your view of the matter, that kind of symbolic power doesn't fade fast.
Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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