Religion in the uk

The Treaty of Union(1707) that led to the formation of the United Kingdom ensured that there would be aProtestant successionas well asa link between church and statethat still remains.Christianityisthe major religion (72% of population), followed byIslam (3%),Hinduism (1%),Sikhism (0,6%)and thenJudaism(0,5%) in terms of number of adherents^*. Though eachcountrythatmakes upthe UK has a long tradition ofChristianity^**that pre-dates the UK itself, in practice all have relatively low levels of religious observance and today aresecularsocieties.

1. Religion in England. The Church of England

1.1. Role and status of the Church of England

The Church of Englandisthe officially established Christian church in England, theMother Churchof the worldwideAnglican Communionand the oldest among the communion’s thirty-eight independent national churches. Others include the Church in Wales, the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Church of Ireland. The British Monarch is“Supreme Governor of the Church of England”.

Thus, Britain does not follow the rule of "separation of church and state" as many modern states do and the Church of England plays a role in governing the country. Firstly, the British monarch is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England and no adherent of other religions can become the monarch or the consort. Secondly, the Measures of the General Synod (the church’s legislative body) become part of English law. Thirdly, the two archbishops and 24 senior bishops sit in the House of Lords, making a major contribution to the Parliament's work.

The Church of England, although an established church, does not receive any direct government support. Donationscomprise its largest source of income, though it also relies heavily on the income from its various historic endowments.

The church has its own judicial branch, known as the Ecclesiastical courts, which likewise form a part of the UK court system, and have powers especially in relation to the care of churches and churchyards and the discipline of the clergy.

1.2. Doctrine and religious practices of the CofE

The Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534with theAct of Supremacy during Henry VIII’s Reformation.Henry maintained a strong preference for traditional Catholic practices and, during his reign, Protestant reformers were unable to make many changes to the practices of the Church of England. Under his son, Edward VI, more Protestant-influenced forms of worship were adopted. The settlement under Elizabeth I developed the via media (middle way) character of the Church of England, a church moderately Reformed in doctrine, but also emphasising continuity with the Catholic and Apostolic traditions of the Church Fathers. Thus, the Church of England considers itself to be both Catholic and Reformed:

• Reformed insofar as many of the principles of Protestant Reformation have influenced it and also insofar as it does not accept Papal supremacy.

• Catholic in that it views itself as being an unbroken continuation of both the early apostolic and later medieval universal church, rather than a new formation, and in that it holds and teaches the historic Catholic faith. In its customs and liturgy it has retained more of the Catholic tradition than most other Protestant churches. (For comparison between the Catholic, Anglican, and other Protestant churches, see Table 1 below)

In practice, Anglicanism is mixed, with some Anglicans who emphasise the Catholic tradition and others the Reformed tradition. Anglican services are extremely varied and flexible. Set forms of words are available, in the Common Book of Prayer as well as several equivalents, but the use of these is optional. There is much variation in style between individual parishes, and some parishes use different services on different Sundays. There are specific words to accompany Communion, and the Lord's Prayer will normally find its way into a service. There will often be a Creed, a formal statement of basic Christian beliefs. Most services include hymns, which may be either traditional or modern. There will be prayers; some of these will be in set words, but some are about current issues. Services also include readings from the Bible and quite often a sermon. At the end of the service there will normally be a collection of money to meet the church’s current needs as well as for charities.

The core of many Anglican services is Holy Communion, also known as Eucharist. This is a ceremony derived from the supper which Jesus held with his followers on the night before his execution. Holy Communion involves the giving out of bread and wine which has been consecrated, or made holy, with special prayers. The bread and wine symbolize the body and blood of Christ.