Dickens Criticizes the Church of England

Charles Dickens, arguably the greatest novelist and editor of all time, forcefully called upon upper-class and middle-class readers to reform institutional religion and their individual moral conduct by constructively criticizing the Church of England and societal behaviors in the mid-Victorian era in England.  In a segment of The Household Narrative of Current Events titled “The Three Kingdoms,” in 1850, Dickens used his editorial prowess to criticize the Church of England for its avarice, dogmatism, hierarchical structures, tyrannical tendencies, and lack of concern for the poor.  Dickens did not mince words when expressing his dissatisfaction with the Church, telling the English people “they are called to a new Reformation, and ought not to shrink
from that glorious labour” (Three Kingdoms 245).  Dickens did not think that the Church was focusing enough on Christ and his teachings because it “still linger(ed) too much in her
constitution, her doctrines, and her services” (Three Kingdoms 244).  The Church of England failed to meet Dickens’ standards for a Christian Church during this time of great social change because it clung to its methodology instead of Christ.  In a letter to a friend, Dickens expressed his conviction that “the Church that is to have its part in the coming time must be a more Christian one, with less arbitrary pretensions and a stronger hold upon the mantle of our Saviour, as He walked and talked upon this earth” (Walder 209).  As a part of his demand for the Church of England to become more Christ-centered, Dickens thought the Church should apply Christ’s lessons in its operations.  Given this belief, Dickens denounced the Church of England for oppressing the poor.  The Church’s clergymen were known to sell pews to the wealthy (forcing lower-income individuals to stand), speak in terms that they knew the less educated among the laity would not understand, and treat the poor as second-class citizens (Green).  The Church of England’s blatant discrimination against the poor conflicted with Dickens’ idea that everyone is equal in the eyes of God. Since he whole-heartedly believed Christ’s teachings to be the ultimate guidelines by which one should live, Dickens was troubled by the Church of England’s tendency to ignore them.


Canterbury Cathedral in Kent. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the leader of the Church of England.

In A Tale of Two Cities, published in 1859 as a weekly serial, Dickens again addressed the issue of “Christian” individuals failing to act as they should.  Dickens did not encourage people simply to be courteous to one another, but to love each other as Christ would. This concept was evident in the exchange between Lucie and Darnay, in which she criticized him for his treatment of Sydney Carton. Dickens said that Darnay “spoke of him (Carton), in short, not bitterly or meaning to bear hard upon him, but as anybody might who saw him as he showed himself” (216).  Dickens’ use of the word “anybody” was significant because it indicated that the majority of people in Darnay’s situation would have also treated Carton indifferently.  Since Dickens did not think Darnay’s treatment of Carton matched that of a good Christian, he was essentially declaring that members of society generally did not behave like good Christians. Conversely, Lucie acted like a Christian by genuinely caring for Carton and recognizing that he was a good person, despite his many flaws.  She says that Carton “‘is capable of good things, gentle things, even magnanimous things’” (217). Through this belief in Carton’s potential for redemption, Lucie displayed another important Christian value that most of the characters in the novel (and English people, in Dickens’ opinion) often lacked: faith.  By using fiction to express his view that the majority of English people were not fully committed to living a Christian lifestyle, Dickens gave readers food for thought without directly accusing them of behaving immorally.  Dickens used journalism, on the other hand, to point out flaws in the methodology and dogmatism of the Church of England because it allowed him to take a factual approach in which the reader was given concrete evidence of the Church’s moral transgressions.  These facts gave credibility to Dickens’ call for a reformation of the Church of England. This approach would not have been as effective for initiating personal reform because people did not want to buy a periodical in which the editor personally criticized their morality, despite having never met them.  Through these two dissimilar genres, Dickens effectively conveyed the need for the Church of England and the people of England to start acting in a more Christ-like manner.


 Portrait of Charles Dickens in 1859, the same year A Tale of Two Cities was first published serially in All the Year Round.