Church of England is considering switching to gender-neutral pronouns for God
The church announced that it could be breaking away from its tradition of referring to God as "he."

The Church of England announced that it was considering adopting more inclusive language when refering to God.
Is God male? Female? Both? Neither? In Christian scripture, the answer is not so cut and dried. God is often referred to as the Heavenly Father who created man in “his” image. At the same time, other parts of the Bible contradict that notion, indicating that God is equal parts masculine and feminine, being the sum total and creator of all things. One could also say that God is neither male nor female, again considering that, in being everything, God is not limited to what distinguishes humans from one another.
It’s because of this nuance that the Church of England announced that it would be considering dropping the use of “he” and “him” and instead adopting gender-neutral pronouns.According to The Guardian, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Michael Ipgrave, Bishop of Lichfield and vice-chair of the commission behind this change, argues that while this breaks traditional teachings, the church had already been “exploring the use of gendered language in relation to God for several years.”
No specifics of the project have been revealed.
Photo by Cherry Laithang on UnsplashThe project comes in response to Rev. Joanna Stobart, vicar of Ilminster and Whitelackington in Somerset, who asked the synod to provide an “update on the steps being taken to develop more inclusive language” used in prayer, especially for those who "wish to use authorized liturgy and speak of God in a non-gendered way.”
While specifics of this campaign remain unclear, there has already been pushback, particularly at the possibility of removing the term “Our Father” from The Lord’s Prayer. The Telegraph reported that the Rev. Dr. Ian Paul asserted that it would change the messaging to something not "grounded in the scriptures".
“‘Father’ can’t be substituted by ‘Mother’ without changing meaning, nor can it be gender-neutralized to ‘parent’ without loss of meaning,” he said.Still, a spokesperson for the Church of England countered, “This is nothing new. Christians have recognized since ancient times that God is neither male nor female, yet the variety of ways of addressing and describing God found in scripture has not always been reflected in our worship.” This interest in exploring new language is therefore a way to further align values.
While the concept of using gender-neutral language might be relatively new for English speakers, other languages around the world have used non-gendered pronouns for centuries. English itself is a language comprised of several mother tongues and is constantly evolving—hence why it has so much variety. So perhaps this change is merely an example of what the English language naturally does, what it has always done.
Either way, it’s an interesting example of how language is merely a tool to put a name to that which is intangible—a tool that can change depending on its purpose. In this case, it's being used to define arguably the most intangible thing in the universe.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.