Most people think it is out of touch with society. There is nothing that drives people out of a church quite as effectively as a striving to be in touch with society.
From here:
More than two-thirds (69%) of the population believe that the Church of England is out of touch with society and half (54%) believe that it does a bad job of providing moral leadership. Almost half disagree with its stance on same-sex marriage.
More and more people in today’s society accept same-sex marriages, remarriages after divorces, female priests, abortions, etc. Should the church make decisions based on popular opinions? I firmly believe that the church must rise above its cultures, if it is to be a lamp rather than mirror to its society.
Well, they say the teachings and tenants of Christianity are now supposed to be counter-cultural to what the rest of society is doing. So I agree that the church shouldn’t just change its stance on every issue just because society has decided to believe that even immoral things are just.
What is surprising to me is that there seems to be an impression that the Church is somehow supposed to be in touch with society. Almost like we are to somehow be a source of confirmation and justification of all the things that society wants. Which of course is completely wrong. If anything the Church is to show the world what the world is doing wrong and provide leadership to make things right.