LONDON (Reuters) — A row over gay adoption has thrown into sharp focus the Church of England’s unique role as the country’s state religion as Britain grapples with the pressures of a multi-cultural society.The Church is already battling internal divisions over gay priests and women bishops, struggling to impose any authority in an increasingly secular society and facing a steady drop in congregations.

Even heir to the throne Prince Charles, who one day will be Supreme Governor of the Church of England, wonders whether he should be Defender of Faith rather than Defender of The Faith to mirror the racial and religious make-up of 21st century Britain.

The Church of England became the established church of the land after the 16th Century Reformation when Henry VIII broke ties with the Pope in Rome so he could divorce his first wife.

Now, in a high stakes clash between church and state, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has sprung to the defence of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Catholics want to be excused from new British anti-discrimination laws which they say could force their adoption agencies to place children with gay couples.

Williams, spiritual head of the world’s 77 million Anglicans, argued: “The rights of conscience cannot be made subject to legislation, however well-meaning.”

So who then does he owe allegiance to? Williams said: “What’s at stake ultimately is whether the church is answerable finally to the state as the only court of appeal or whether the church can rightly appeal to other sources for its moral compass.”

Long gone are the days when Britain had an empire and its missionaries helped colonise vast areas of the world.

But Anglican vicars still swear allegiance to the Crown.

To left-wing firebrand Tony Benn, the set-up is an outrageous anachronism.

“Church and state should be separated,” the veteran socialist told Reuters. “The Church is our oldest nationalised industry. No government should be controlled by religion. It is totally undemocratic, it is all rubbish.”

What then is the alternative in Britain where the threat from radical Islam has provoked soul-searching over how much ethnic communities should be assimilated into mainstream society?

Mainstream Muslims are reluctant to call for the disestablishment of the church. “While it is not our faith, the Church of England serves a useful purpose in reminding people about the importance of religion in public life,” a spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain said.