The problem with the word 'problematic'

There have been groans of derision following the proclamation by the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cotterell, that the opening lines to the Lord’s Prayer – ‘Our Father’ – might be ‘problematic’, owing to their ‘patriarchal’ connotations. Yet the cries of mockery and exasperation on social media, though justified, have also been mostly predictable. After all, trendy Anglican clerics have been with us for decades, forever providing us with a source of mirth and vexation. The Church of England has form here.

What is novel is the Archbishop’s deployment of the word ‘problematic’. In this, he reveals that he really is with the zeitgeist, and really is down with the kids. For ‘problematic’ is one of the most favoured words by those who follow the church of woke. It encapsulates an outlook of passive-aggressive judgementalism masquerading as non-judgementalism.