"Very many of our schools are serving areas of significant socio-economic disadvantage, whether in urban or rural areas.
"Church of England schools were established in the nineteenth century 'to educate the poor', and we continue that honourable tradition by maintaining our institutional presence in some of the most difficult areas in society."
Mr Hopkins went on to celebrate the popularity of Church schools, saying it was down to more than just their success.
"It's not simply that they have good results (although that is undoubtedly a factor in their popularity). More fundamentally, parents have confidence that Church schools provide a sound moral framework and a context in which the development of the whole child is nurtured.
"Parents welcome the fact that Church schools have a culture rooted explicitly in a clear set of values and principles.
"At a time when children and young people are facing enormous pressures to conform to a prevailing consumerist and media-driven construct of 'success', many parents want schools that are able to impart to children a sense of human dignity and a clear moral compass."
He added: "Ultimately, the argument about Church (or "faith") schools resolves itself into a discussion about the kind of society we wish to be.
"Do we want to be a society in which religion is regarded as a purely private matter and relegated to the margins of public life and discourse (in which case it has the capacity to be a divisive force)? Or do we want to be a society in which religious expression is afforded an institutional involvement and presence within prescribed limits that are generally considered acceptable?
"The latter represents pre-eminently the Anglican settlement, which has served our nation so well. As the Established Church, within our educational role, we have the opportunity - and indeed the duty - to contribute to the well being of society."
