Charles Davis (theologian)

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Charles Alfred Davis (1923–1999) was an English theologian and priest. He taught theology in England and later religious studies in Canada. In 1966 he publicly left the Catholic Church, saying that he could no longer accept the Papacy. His departure caused a big debate in both the Catholic and Anglican worlds.

Background
Davis was born in Swindon to a Catholic family and grew up in England. He studied at St. Brendan’s in Bristol and was ordained in 1946. He spent time studying in Rome and then taught at St Edmund’s College in Ware from 1952 to 1965. He gave the famous F. D. Maurice Lectures at King’s College London, which were published as God’s Grace in History (1966). He also edited Clergy Review. Davis briefly joined Heythrop College but stayed only 16 months. He worked with The New Churches Research Group, a group of Catholics and Anglicans who pushed for liturgical reform and new church designs.

Left the Catholic Church
On December 21, 1966, Davis announced he was leaving the Catholic Church. His departure was widely covered in the press and described as a crisis of authority in the Church. He argued in a statement that the Church had become too powerful and impersonal, and he felt that orthodox beliefs limited his ability to think freely. His exit was later discussed in his autobiography, A Question of Conscience (1967). He married Florence Henderson in 1967, after leaving the priesthood, and they had a daughter, Claire. Some theologians and writers reacted in various ways, with mixed sympathy and criticism.

Life after leaving church
Davis moved to Canada to continue his academic career. He became Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Alberta in Edmonton and later chaired the Department of Religious Studies at Concordia University in Montreal. He also served as President of the Canadian Society for the Study of Religion. In 1978, he gave the Hulsean Lectures at Cambridge University, which were published as Theology and Political Society (1980). A collection of essays in his honor, The Promise of Critical Theology, appeared in 1995. Davis retired in 1991 and returned to Britain, living in Edinburgh. In his final years he rejoined the Catholic Church and received communion. He suffered from Parkinson’s disease and passed away in 1999.

Notable works
- God’s Grace in History (based on the F. D. Maurice Lectures, 1966)
- Theology and Political Society (Hulsean Lectures, 1980)
- Temptations of Religion (1974)
- What Is Living, What Is Dead in Christianity Today? (1986)
- A Question of Conscience (autobiography, 1967)

Charles Davis is remembered for his bold move to leave the Catholic Church, his broader interest in how religion relates to society, and his influential teaching and writing across both the United Kingdom and Canada.