Transcript Religion in the United Kingdom

RELIGION IN THE UNITED
KINGDOM
Religion in the United Kingdom
has been dominated, for over 1,400
years, by various forms of
Christianity.
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
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
ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE
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
HISTORY OF RELIGION IN THE
UK
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
THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND
King Henry VIII
WHY DID ENGLAND BECOME A
PROTESTANT COUNTRY?
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.
FLAG OF ANGLICAN COMMUNION
THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND
• 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
MEMBERSHIP
The membership of the Church of
England consists of most middle- and
upper-classes and is mainly ruralbased. The Church of England is
currently the 2nd largest church in
Britain, and the third largest land
owner in Britain
CHURCH OF ENGLAND AS AN
ESTABLISHED CHURCH
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)
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
ANGLICAN DOCTRINE, LITURGY
AND WORSHIP
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.
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
ANGLICAN COMMUNION
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
CHURCH OF SCOTLAND (THE
KIRK)
• 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.
PRESBYTERIANISM AND
CONGREGATIONALISM
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 .
PCI LOGO
PRESBYTERIANISM
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.
ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE
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
METHODISM
(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
Pietism
Anglicanism
Protestantism
Christianity
Arminianism
Background
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
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 circuit
A circuit is a group of local churches, served by a team of local preachers and ministers
including the superintendent minister.
The district
The district serves a geographical group of circuits and is led by the district chair.
The Conference
The 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.
BAPTIST
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.
QUAKERS
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
The Kirk
Anglican Catholic
Local unit
parish
parish
Other
Nonconformist
Churches
congregation congregation
chapel;
meeting house
(the Quakers)
Place of
worship
church
church kirk
Clergy
vicar/rector/parson;
priest;
curate (junior
member)
priest minister minister;
New member
of clergy
deacon
Residence
of clergy
vicarage;
rectory
pastor
novice
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NON-CHRISTIAN CHURCHES IN
BRITAIN
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