13.

Religion
Are British religious?
• Not regularly attend religious services- a few
times in their lives
• ¾ population believe in God
– ½ - 1/3 believe in concepts such as life after death,
heave and hell
– 50%pop believe in astrology, parapsychology, ghosts
and clairvoyance
• A majority approve of compulsory religious
instructions at state schools
• The Queen is queen ‘by the grace of God’ and
“‘God save our Queen’ invoking God’s help in
protecting her
Religion and politics
• Freedom of religious and worship as one
personal beliefs has nothing to do with politics.
• Anglican Church is the independent and
official religion but the privileged position of the
Church of England is not a political issue-
nobody feel discriminated
• Religion should stay out of politics?
• from 1980s, the Church had trends of publicly
condemning the unfair issues in society as
widening gap between the rich and the poor
Anglicanism -Church of England
the official religion

• Doctrine: 16thc document called Thirty-Nine

Articles
• Birth/ Main movement more patriotic and
political
•  a ‘broad church’ + a wide variety of beliefs
and practices. i.e. the nature of its religious
services varies quite widely from church to
church dependent on local priest and local
tradition
Church of England ( Anglican Church)-
Protestantism ( doctrine) + catholicism ( style)

1. 2. ‘Anglo
Evangelical Catholic’
or ‘ high 3. a liberal
or ‘low wing,
church’ church’

Anglicanism
Three main strands of belief
identified
• 1. Evangelical or ‘low church’
•  contents of Bible/ Thirty-Nine Articles
• +plain services of ceremony
• =/= Catholicism + Pope doctrines + Church hierarchical structure.
• 2. ‘Anglo Catholic’ or ‘ high church’
• not accept the Pope
• + more colorful services, organ music & elaborating priestly
clothing
• 3. a liberal wing, more radical
• suspicious of some traditional Christian beliefs
• more tolerant towards homosexuality
• First support moves to ordain women priests
 Anglican Church & Episcopalianism

• Every ten years , Episcopalian

churches:
Bishops gather in bishops
London for the
Lambeth
Conference, chaired by
the Archbishop of
Canterbury
Anglican
Scotland, US
Church
Ireland,
( official in Australia
England)
Arbishop of Canterbury
Catholicism ( Catholic Church)
• 1850s British Catholic re-established
• + social activities : 10% pop  5%MPs
• + family rooted from Italy, Ireland… else where
Europe.
• Religious activities
– +greater cohesiveness & uniformity
– + more centralized control over practices of worship
• / Doctrine & practices  seen in two aspects:
– Religious instructions taken more seriously in Catholic
schools + Head as a monk, a friar or a nun.
– Regular weekly attendance at church and receiving
sacraments
Other Conventional Christian
Churche

Protestantism

Anglicanism

Catholicism
 1.Puritan & Presbyterian Church
• The Church ( ‘kirk’) of Scotland +’
Moderator’ as Head elected by general
assembly
• as’ dissenters’ then ‘nonconformists’ or
free churches in England or N. Ireland
-differ considerably in worship style and
doctrines.
• share certain characteristics:
•  Simplicity & individual prayers,
• little difference between clergy and lay member,
many teetotal ( never drinking alcohol)
 Anglicanism
Protestantism/ Doctrine: Catholicism/ ‘Romish’
Style
• Rejects Pope
authority • + hierachy structure
• Emphasizes truth in Bible & form of worship
words
• Live an austerity life of hard
work and self-sacrifice
• Disapprove pleasures
( theatre, drinking,
gambling, celebrations of
sexual life
•  Origin of PURITAN/
Calvinist Tradition
2. Methodists

Methodist John Wesley 18thc preacher/

Society

Disagreement with established church-

* lack of caring for the need of ordinary people and
*hierarchy not serious enough about the Christian
message

Wesleyan movement the Salvation Army

 Quakers
3. Baptists Society of
Friends

A very small group +

Strict in interpretation notable characteristics:
of Bible;
lack of clergy

Pacifism
Refusing to fight a war
dislikes of worldly
pleasures Ready to do
ambulance and
hospital work
Other religions, churches &
religious movements
• Calvinistic Methodist’ and ‘ Presbyterian
Church of Wales as Welsh origin
• Since 1950s, other Christian sects and
Churches growing.
• The Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses and
Seventh Day Adventists ( originated in the
US) characterized by the term ‘
evangelical’; avoid rigid ritual and
emphasis on interpretation of the Bible
• provide a strict code of behavior for their
followers
Penticostalism
( Penticostal group)
• The fastest growing type of evangelical
Christianity
• +Followers ; : working class – middle class
• Gatherings often involves joyful singing;
informal meetings in living-rooms
• Belief in spiritual healing of the sick
• Some ‘ charismatic’ groups give emphasis
on the spiritual & miraculous on revelation
to fill uo the gap their ocial life.
‘New Age’ beliefs
• from 1960s appeared with Theosophy,
Druidism, Buddhism, Christian Scientism
(which believes in the control of the body
thru the mind), and many other beliefs
mixed.
• Followers : a small set of upper middle
class
• Share 2 common features :
• 1. an emphasis on personal ( spiritual )
development
• 2. respect for the natural environment
Other religions
• Jews
• Christian Orthodox, Sikh, Hindu and
Muslim religions all growing ( high birth
rates)
• Muslim groups as largest for another
reason: relative poverty, racial
discrimination , conflicts with authority