The Church of England should be open for use by people of any religion or none, like a hospital, says Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York.

There is a strong case for regarding the Church as a public body that does not exist simply to serve believers, he argues. Whether or not most people attend regularly is irrelevant.

“At a time when a creeping social Darwinism is on the rise, where life is measured in terms of its quality or usefulness, the Church remains the last bastion of defence for those who would find themselves close to jettison by society,” the Archbishop says.

As the recession bites, the Established Church must rediscover its confidence and self-esteem. “The Church of England must once again be a beacon by which the people of England can orientate themselves in an unknown ocean.”

He cites the 23 million hours of community service carried out each year by Anglicans to make the case that the Church should remain established.

Dr Sentamu’s remarks will be published today by the Institute for Public Policy Research, Britain’s leading progressive think-tank, in a collection of essays by senior British faith leaders. Other contributors include Sir Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi, and Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the Archbishop of Westminster. The report, Faith in the Nation, which has a foreword by Gordon Brown, is one of the most important contributions to date on the role of religion in Britain’s increasingly secular but also multifaith society.

The institute, which has close links with the Labour Party, is concerned about growing estrangement between faith communities, liberal secularism and the cult of the individual.

The report comes as questions of faith are treated with growing seriousness in politics and public policy. Government advisers and MPs have woken up to the faith implications of immigration.

They have accepted that the decline of religious belief predicted by secularists and many church leaders at the end of the 20th century has not happened. Religion has become more significant than ever in recent history.

The faith leaders, who include Ramesh Kallidai, from the Hindu community, Indarjit Singh, from the Sikhs, and Dilwar Hussain, of the Islamic Foundation, focus on British identity, an issue of concern to Muslim leaders in particular, who report a continuing rise in Islamophobia.

Dr Sentamu argues that the Church of England’s place in modern Britain is not one of privilege but of “service born of duty and care”. He says: “There is little doubt in my mind that a place exists for an established Church serving our nation. From church schools to funerals, from interfaith work to state occasions, from speaking out for the marginalised to ministering to the sick, the Church plays a vital daily role in the operation of our nation.”

As a man born in Uganda who benefited from the work of British missionaries, “I simply remind the English of what they first taught me”.

What Dr Sentamu says about the Church’s role

‘In July the Government published a Green Paper on the governance of Britain that set out its continuing relationship with the Church of England as follows: “The Government reaffirms its commitment to the position of the Church of England by law established, with the Sovereign as its Supreme Governor, and the relationship between the Church and State. The Government greatly values the role played by the Church in national life in a range of spheres.”

In a collection of essays to be published next week by the Institute for Public Policy Research I will argue the case as to why the Church of England should remain by law established.

At a time when a creeping social Darwinism is on the rise, where life is measured in terms of its “quality” or “usefulness” the Church remains the last bastion of defence for those who would find themselves close to being jettisoned by society. The doors of the Church are never shut to such as these. We embrace an understanding of humanity and the individual where all life is God-given and God-breathed.

Hence the Church becomes a place not only for the most vulnerable but also for their most vocal defenders; a tent pitched in the middle of the public square where all are invited because all are worthy.

It is a place where divine action and human activity overlap in the person of Jesus Christ, who pitched his fleshly tent among us. It is not simply a place of refuge, but rather a place of hospitality for the marginalised, welcoming those who find themselves, by accident or design, at risk of exclusion from any sense of belonging or without a stake in our stakeholding society.

The current challenge for the Church of England, as I believe it is also for other denominations, is to ensure that it is living and proclaiming the Gospel afresh in a way that is comprehensible and relevant to people today, inviting them to participate in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And I am hopeful. There are many signs that the Church is beginning to find again that renewal which lies at the heart of our resurrection faith.

I see it in the work that Anglicans along with Christians of other denominations, people of goodwill, and those of other religions are doing to campaign and provide for asylum seekers. I see it in the work of Church academies seeking to transform areas of need and deprivation into places of learning, service and hope. In responding to the needs of the most vulnerable people, the Church is indeed fulfilling the Biblical imperatives to stand up for the poor and defenceless and to care for the stranger in its midst.’