“The Crown” team

FE 2101
Religious History

Presenter: Olga Bodur

Today, Britain possesses a diversity of
religious denominations, which have
been added to by recent immigrants.
 There is little evidence of organized
religion in very early British history,
beyond archeological discoveries which
suggest various forms of heathen belief.
 Some Christian influences had reached Britain before AD 400
and during the Roman occupation. But they were not widespread or
permanent.
Ireland was converted to Christianity around AD 432 mainly by St
Patrick, who brought the faith from Rome.
The church provided educated advisers and administrators,
through whom the kings could control their
kingdoms more efficiently.
The connection between church and state was consequently
established at an early stage in English history.
Christianity became a central and
influential force in society. The
church was based on a hierarchy of
monks, priests, bishops and arch-
bishops.
It was a part not only of religious culture
but also of administration, government
and law.
 . In 1534 Henry broke away from
Rome
. and declared himself head of
the church in England. The
immediate reason for this breach
was the Pope’s refusal to accept
Henry’s divorce from his queen,
Katharine of Aragon, who had not
produced a male heir to the throne.
But Henry also wanted to curb the
church’s power and wealth. In 1536
he dissolved many monasteries and
confiscated a large part of the
church’s property.

Henry VIII (28 June 1491 – 28

January 1547) the  King of England
Catherine of Aragon  Anne Boleyn
The King –is The Ceremonies Preserve of the
The Head of the and prays in sumptuous
Church English worship

Church Reformation

Preservation of
Confiscation of three sacraments:
Justification by
monasteries baptism, Eucharist
Faith
property penance
Catholic Mary Tudor Protestant Elizabeth I
Thirty-Nine
Articles of Faith Book of Common Prayer
• Fierce religious conflicts between Protestants and Catholics, often
resulting in martyrdom, continued during the seventeenth century.
They culminated in the Civil War (1642–48) between the mainly
Protestant Parliamentarians and the largely Catholic Royalists,
which led to the protectorate of Oliver Cromwell.
• The Methodists
• The evangelicals
• the Baptists
• Nonconformists
• the Oxford or
Tracterian Movement
 Main contemporary religious groups
C H R I S T I A N C H U R C H E S

Church Church Free Roman

of of Churches Catholic
England S c o tla n d Church

N O N - C H R I S T I A N C H U R C H E S

4
Jewish Hindus Muslims Sikhs
c o m m u n it y

There is religious freedom in contemporary Britain; a person may

belong to any religion or none; and religious discrimination is
unlawful.
There is no religious bar to the holding of public office, except that the
monarch must be a m ember of the Church of England. None of the
churches is tied specifically to a political party and there are no
religious parties as such in Parliament.
 
The Christian tradition

Presenter:
Veronica Munteanu
Christianity in Britain is represented
mainly by the:
Church of England
the Roman Catholic Church (which are
the largest)
the Church of Scotland
the Free Churches.
The Low Church or Evangelical wing
The ChUrch of Scotland
The Roman Catholic Church

Presenter:
Veronica Dermenji
Today Catholicism is widely practiced throughout Britain and
enjoys complete religious freedom, except for the fact that no
Catholic can become monarch.

5 million
nominal
members of the
Roman Catholic
faith in Britain,
The Free ChUrches-are composed of those
Nonconformist Protestant sects which are not established
like the Churches of England and Scotland
The Methodist Church
The Baptists
United Reformed Church
The Salvation Army emphasizes saving souls
through a practical Christianity and social concern. It was
founded in Britain by William Booth in 1865; now has some
55,000 active members
The non-Christian tradition

Presenter:
Anastasia Dunas
The non-Christian tradition in Britain is mainly
associated with immigrants into the country over the
centuries, such as the Jews and, more recently,
Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus
The Jewish commUnity

250 local synagogues,

and Jewish schools
 Other non-Christian religions
Immigration into Britain during the
last fifty years has resulted in a
substantial growth of other non-
Christian religions, such as Islam,
Sikhism and Hinduism