RELIGION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

Religion in the United Kingdom has been

dominated, for over 1,400 years, by various forms of

Christianity.

currently the largest church in Britain

about 5 million nominal members, 2 million active participants

 working class, settlers of Irish descent,

some middle-class and upper-class families

 

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

The Roman Catholic Church in the United Kingdom is divided into:

  8 provinces (4 in England, 2 in Scotland, 1 in

Wales, 1 in Northern Ireland), each under the supervision of an archbishop 

37 dioceses, each under the supervision of a bishop (some dioceses in NI overlap with dioceses in the republic of Ireland

over 3,000 parishes

The head of the Roman Catholic Church is the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster

ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE

Britain used to be a Roman Catholic country.

In 1533, during the reign of Henry VIII, England broke from the Roman Catholic Church to form the

Anglican Church

HISTORY OF RELIGION IN THE UK

King Henry VIII

THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND

Henry VIII, the king, wanted a divorce. He wanted a son and

his wife only gave birth to daughters. He asked the Pope for permission to divorce, but

was refused. Henry VIII became very angry and

decided to make his own church.

Henry VIII became leader of the Church of England

(Anglican Church). He had the Bible translated to

English  and the people who believed in this new religion

were called Protestants

Back to being a Catholic Country

In 1553, Mary became Queen. She changed the country back to

Catholicism and burned Protestants who wouldn't change

at the stake

All change again

In 1558, Elizabeth became Queen. She changed the church back to

Anglican and it has been the official religion of England since.

WHY DID ENGLAND BECOME A PROTESTANT COUNTRY?

FLAG OF ANGLICAN COMMUNION

• episcopate hierarchy, i.e. there are Anglican archbishops and bishops

• a network of cathedrals

 BUT

• no clerical celibacy• no invocation of

saints• Anglicans do not

believe in the purgatory

• women can be ordained clergy

THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND

MEMBERSHIP

The membership of the Church of England consists of most middle- and upper-classes and is mainly rural-based. The Church of England is currently the 2nd largest church in Britain, and the third largest land

owner in Britain

The Church of England is the established (official) church in England, which means it is linked in various ways to the monarch

and the state: 

The Queen is the Supreme Head of the Established Church of England

 The Queen promises to maintain the Church and is a full member of the Church of England who has been confirmed and who takes

Holy Communion.

The Queen bears the official title of Defender of the Faith: Dei Gratia Regina, Fidei Defensor

 The Queen appoints bishops and archbishops of the Church of

England (on PM’s advice on the basis of lists of candidates supplied by the Church)

CHURCH OF ENGLAND AS AN ESTABLISHED CHURCH

archbishops, bishops and parish priests of the Church of England swear an oath of allegiance to the monarch.

 

‘I accept Your Majesty

as the sole source of

ecclesiastical, spiritual

and temporal power’

 

bishops and archbishops may not resign without the permission of the Queen

 

the two archbishops and twenty-two senior bishops sit in the House of Lords – they are known as Lords Spiritual

 

 

Parliament decides about the Church of England rituals and organizations

 

the British monarch opens the General Synod every five years and gives assent to measures passed by the Synod, in the same way that assent is

given to laws passed by Parliament

The Chicago–Lambeth Quadrilateral (1888) is the official articulation of Anglican identity:

 

1. The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, as ‘containing all things necessary to salvation’, and as being the

rule and ultimate standard of faith.

 

2. The Apostles’ Creed, as the baptismal symbol; and the Nicene Creed, as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith.

 

3. The two sacraments ordained by Christ himself – Baptism and the Supper of the Lord – ministered with unfailing use of

Christ’s words of institution, and of the elements ordained by him.

ANGLICAN DOCTRINE, LITURGY AND WORSHIP

There are two sources of Anglican liturgy and worship:

 The Book of Common Prayer,

1549 (written by Thomas Cranmer, finally revised in 1662)

 39 Articles, 1563

There are two strands of belief (wings) of the Church of England:

 

 

Low Church (evangelicals) (80% of church membership)

 

plain services with minimum ceremony

literal interpretation of the Bible

conscious opposition to the papal doctrine and Catholicism

suspicious of the hierarchical structure of the Church

 

 

 

High Church (Anglo-Catholics) (20% of church membership)

 

emphasis on church tradition

Roman Catholic influences on practices and teaching

more elaborate and colorful services

CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL

The Church of England consists of two Provinces:

 - Canterbury - established by the end of the 6th century by St. Augustine - headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury - the Primate of All England. The Province is divided

into 29 dioceses. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the active, professional head

of the Church. He is involved in a number of national ceremonies, e.g. coronation.

 - York - headed by the Archbishop of York - the Primate of England. The Province is

divided into 14 dioceses.

General Synod (1919 – 1970 the Church Assembly) is the national governing body of the Church of England.

It is a tricameral assembly consisting of:

 

the House of Bishops,

the House of Clergy

the House of Laity

The Anglican Communion is a loose international association of ‘particular or national churches’ throughout the world, most of them owing their origins to the Church of England, and all in

communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury.

  

There are about 78 million Anglicans worldwide in 39 provinces

 

the Anglican Community has no central power or uniform organization

 

the Lambeth Conference – is a meeting of Anglican bishops from all over the world in London every 10 years (since 1867),

presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is a forum for debate on issues such as: 

doctrine

relations with other churches

attitudes to political and social questions

ANGLICAN COMMUNION

• established by John Knox in 1560• deriving from the Calvinist doctrine and stressing:  

o finding the truth in oneself

o hard work and self-sacrifice 

• Presbyterian in nature, i.e. governed by elected ministers and elders, who are lay members of the church (NO priests or bishops) 

• democratic structure – ministers are equal with each other

• separate from the Church of England, with its own organization, doctrines and practices

• its independence guaranteed by the Act of Union of 1707• The Queen promises to preserve the Church of Scotland, but

is not the Head of the Church of Scotland.

CHURCH OF SCOTLAND (THE KIRK)

In Scotland the Presbyterian Church of Scotland (known informally as The Kirk), is recognised as the National

Church. The Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales was founded in the late 1980s and declared themselves to

be a Presbytery in 1996.The Presbyterian Church in Ireland is the largest Protestant denomination .

PRESBYTERIANISM AND

CONGREGATIONALISM

PCI LOGO

is a branch of Protestant Christianity that adheres to the Calvinist theological tradition and whose congregations are organized according to a Presbyterian polity.

Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God

the authority of the Scriptures, and the necessity of grace through faith in Christ.

Presbyterianism originated primarily in Scotland.

PRESBYTERIANISM

Scotland is divided into 46 regional presbyteries which all consist of about 1,500 kirks (churches), each under the

local control.

 

Each church (kirk) is governed by a Kirk Session, i.e. its minister and elders.

 

The governing body of the Church of Scotland is the General Assembly:

  consists of elected ministers and elders meets once a year is presided over by the Moderator, who is also elected

annually

ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE

(from Greek: μέθοδος - methodos, "pursuit of knowledge) is a movement of Protestant Christianity. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism.The Methodist Church is known for its missionary work, and its establishment of hospitals, universities, orphanages, soup kitchens, and schools to follow Jesus' command to spread the Good News and serve all people

METHODISM

Background

Christianity

Protestantism

Pietism Anglicani

sm

Arminianism

Wesleyanism

METHODISM

The Methodist movement traces its origin to the evangelical awakening in the 18th century. Today, the Methodist

Church of Great Britain, (which includes congregations in the Channel Islands,

the Isle of Man, Malta and Gibraltar) has around 270,000 members and 6,000 churches, though only around 3,000 members in 50 congregations are in

Scotland.

METHODISM

METHODISM

It began with a group of men, including John Wesley and his younger brother Charles, as a movement within the Church of England in the 18th century. The movement focused on Bible study and a methodical approach to scriptures and Christian living. The name "methodist" was a pejorative name given to a small society of students at Oxford who met together between 1729 and 1735 for the purpose of mutual improvement, given because of their methodistic habits. They were accustomed to receiving communion every week, fasting regularly, and abstaining from most forms of amusement and luxury. They also frequently visited the sick and the poor, as well as prisoners.

The early Methodists acted against perceived apathy in the Church of England, preaching in the open air and establishing Methodist societies wherever they went. George Whitefield, another significant leader in the movement, and one of the Wesley brothers' fellow students at Oxford, became well known for his unorthodox ministry of itinerant open-air preaching.Most Methodists identify with the Arminian conception of free will, through God's prevenient grace, as opposed to the theological determinism of absolute predestination.

JOHN WESLEY

STRUCTURE OF METHODIS CHURCH

The Connexion

Methodists are linked together in a ‘Connexion’ of churches, circuits and districts.

The local church

The local church is the congregational place of worship, where Methodist members and attenders are nurtured.

The circuitA circuit is a group of local churches, served by a team of local preachers and

ministers including the superintendent minister.

The districtThe district serves a geographical group of circuits and is led by the district

chair.

The ConferenceThe annual Methodist Conference meets in different places and is the supreme

decision making body of the Church. At the start of Conference a new President and Vice-President are appointed to preside over that Conference and spend the year travelling around the Connexion, and abroad representing

the Methodist Church.

The Baptist Union of Great Britain, despite its name, covers just England and Wales. There is

a separate Baptist Union of Scotland and the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland is

an all-Ireland organisation.

BAPTIST

The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)

 

founded in the 1652 by George Fox

no ministers

silent meetings in meeting houses

stress pacifism and social work

QUAKERS

  

 

Anglican

 

Catholic

 

The Kirk

 

Other NonconformistChurches

 

Local unit

 

parish

 

parish 

congregation

 congregation

 

Place of worship

 

church

 

church

 

kirk chapel; meeting house (the Quakers)

 

Clergy

 vicar/rector/parson;priest;curate (junior member)

 

priest

 

minister

 

minister;pastor 

New member of clergy

 

deacon

 

novice ---------------

 ----------------------

 Residence of clergy

 vicarage;rectory

 

manse ---------------

 ----------------------

Jewish community - Britain has the second largest population of Jews in Europe. The British Jewish community is divided into: the Orthodox (led by the Chief Rabbi of Britain) ,the Reform ,the Liberal . there are

about 300 synagogues in the country

Muslim - 1.6 million Muslims in Britain, mostly from Pakistan and Bangladesh, about 1,000 mosques in the United Kingdom, the

London Central Mosque (the Islamic Cultural Centre, ICC) is the largest Muslim institution in western Europe

Hindus (165,000) – 143 Hindu temples - the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London is the largest Hindu temple in Europe

Buddhists - Kagyu Samyé Ling Monastery and Tibetan Centre is a Tibetan Buddhist complex associated in Eskdalemuir, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is the largest Buddhist temple in Europe

NON-CHRISTIAN CHURCHES IN BRITAIN