I'm confirmed into the Anglican Communion, though I haven't been a regular attender for about 10 years. Now 67 years old, I'm still interested in my Anglican heritage and what my Anglican infant baptism means. I worry that the Church of England is dying. It seems that the people in our church are quite out-of-touch with the local community and unable to be authentic in their relationships with non-churchgoers. It seems that the culture of the people is at odds with the people of the community.
The question I have may seem trivial, but I think it's symptomatic of this out-of-touch problem. On a visit to check-out the new priest I was not really surprised to hear his voice had that 'sing-songy' quality that most vicars had in my childhood. But what really shocked me was that in casual conversation after the service he spoke in the same way. It was rather like a caricature, and at times it was hard not to laugh at the stereotype that was conjured-up.
I think it might help me to attend an Anglican church again if I could at least understand if it is a prejudice in myself when I hear this anachronistic vocal style. Knowing why might promote tolerance. My question is about the origin on the phenomenon. My guess is that it was taught and propagated after the Reformation, as RC priests seem to be immune. And why should it extend outside of church services into their everyday conversation?
I've come across quite a few embarrassing references to 'sing-songy' vicars on the Internet, so I guess that the behaviour is still fairly common in the C of E, e.g. https://sites.google.com/site/singsongyvicars/ Has any research been done into the phenomenon? or would it be too embarrassing to mention?