Cancel culture is making us less forgiving, Archbishop of Canterbury warns – Gript

Society has become increasingly unforgiving because of cancel culture, with people harshly punished for making a mistake, the Archbishop of Canterbury has warned.

Speaking on BBC One at the weekend, the Most Rev Justin Welby was asked by Laura Kuenssberg, host of the BBC’s flagship Sunday morning politics show, if he thought there is a lack of togetherness.

Responding, the British Bishop said that he felt people have become “very unforgiving” – with people “crucified” for want of another word if they make a mistake.

“I think there is,” he answered. “I think we just haven’t adjusted to the way in which we communicate, is one problem. I think also we’ve become very unforgiving. When people make a mistake, they’re absolutely, to use a phrase from my own world, crucified for it — sorry, I couldn’t think of another word”.

He continued: “I think people suffer hugely when they go wrong, not just with public exposure, but the awful trolling that goes on, and the inability to accept apologies, to seek forgiveness. Those are really difficult things”.

The head of the Anglican Church has previously been criticised for politicised comments in the past. Last December, he claimed that getting vaccinated against Covid-19 was a moral issue as taking the vaccine reduces the chances of the illness being spread. Speaking at the time, he ignited division when he said “it’s not about me and my rights to choose – it’s about how I love my neighbour”.

He was widely criticised for “playing the God card” with the vaccine and demonising those who did not receive it, while he has also been accused of being “woke” for voicing opinions on various issues including the controversial Edward Colston statue which was toppled in the summer of 2020.

However, the Archbishop has been a defender of free speech. Earlier this year, Welby said he believed secularised societies in the West had lost the ability to “disagree well”.

During a trip to Australia, he said: “We have not found a way of disagreeing without exclusion, without cancelling people…

Cancel culture is making us less forgiving, Archbishop of Canterbury warns – Gript