Religion in Britain
Britain is a multi faith society in which everyone has the right to religious freedom. Although Britain is historically a Christian society, people are usually very tolerant towards the faiths of others and those who have no religious beliefs.
The main religion in Britain is Christianity. Most Christians belong to the Church of England or the Church of Scotland. These are Protestant Churches. There are also many Roman Catholics. The Protestant Reformation established different religious practices in the different countries of what became the United Kingdom.
National church of England
The church of England is the official religion in England. It was established in the 16th century under Henry VIII by the Act of Supremacy (1534). Henry VIII made the Church independent from Rome after the Pope refused to grand him a divorce from his first wife Catherine who did not give him a son. He himself became the Head of the Church of England and since that time Catholicism has never been restored to England again. Thus, England has become one of the most important Protestant powers in Europe.
Church of Scotland
Apart from the Anglican church there are also Free Churches in Britain (“free” means that they are not “established”). A good example is the Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, The Kirk. Is the national church of Scotland. It is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation. It is recognised in law (by the Church of Scotland Act 1921) as the national church in Scotland. The British Monarch is an ordinary member of the Church of Scotland, the monarch is represented at the General Assembly by the Lord High Commissioner.
National church of Wales
The Church in Wales is a member Church of the Anglican Communion, consisting of six dioceses in Wales. The Welsh Church Act 1914 provided for the separation of the dioceses of the Church of England located in Wales known collectively as the Church in Wales from the rest of the Church, and for the simultaneous disestablishment of the Church. The Act came into operation in 1920. As in Scotland the Church of Wales is not an Established church. The Archbishop of Wales holds that post as well as being bishop of one of the six dioceses.
'National' church of Northern Ireland
The prevalent religion in Ireland used to be Catholicism. However, since the English gained control of Northern Ireland, the Protestants have become a real power. The Anglican Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion, operating across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Like other Anglican churches, it considers itself to be both Catholic and Reformed. The Church of Ireland was disestablished in 1871 by the Irish Church Disestablishment Act. The Republic of Ireland later seceded from the UK. Although the Protestant population of Northern Ireland is larger numerically than the Catholic population, the Roman Catholic Church forms the largest single denomination. The largest Protestant denominations are the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Church of Ireland and the Methodist Church. The 2001 UK census showed 40.3% Roman Catholic, 20.7% Presbyterian Church.
Nowadays there are still conflicts between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. In the period of violence (known as the Troubles) more than 3000 people have died. Terrorist violence is mainly caused by the Catholic IRA and Protestant UVF.
Roman Catholic
The Roman Catholic system of governments is retained with archbischops, bishops ect. The senior clergy are appointed by the sovereign on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, and the Archbishop of Canterbury is the religious is the head of the Church of England. The followers of this religion are called Anglicans.
Islam
Islam is the second largest religion in the United Kingdom, with a total of about 1.6 million persons, (or 2.8% of the total population) Muslims.The first large group of Muslims in England arrived about 300 years ago. The first Muslim community which permanently settled in Britain consisted of Yemeni sailors who arrived in ports such as Swansea, Liverpool and South Shields shortly after 1900. Later some of them migrated to inland cities like Birmingham and Sheffield. Mosques also appeared in British seaports at this time. From the 1950s, with large immigration to Britain from the former colonies of Britain, large Muslim populations developed in many British towns and cities.
Judaism
The majority of Jewish immigration to Scotland appears to have occurred post-industrialisation, and post-1707. The Jewish community has historically suffered expulsions, official restrictions and discrimination, and outbreaks of communal violence however, in the 19th and 20th centuries, British society was considered more tolerant of Jews than most other European nations, especially the ones from Germany and eastern Europe.
Other religions:
-Methodism
-Orthodox Churches
-Russian Orthodox Church
-Greek Orthodox Church
As well as the Russian and Greek Orthodox churches, there are also the
-Armenian Apostolic Church,
-the Serbian Orthodox Church
-the Ukrainian Orthodox Church all in London as well as the
-Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in Manchester.
-Hinduism
-Sikhism
-Buddhism
-Neopaganism
The United Kingdom has a large and growing non-religious population with 13,626,000 (23.2% of the UK population) either claiming no religion or not answering the question on religion at the 2001 census. Britain has one of the most religiously diverse populations in the European Union. Although British people are free to choose and follow their own religious beliefs. Christianity is the main religion but there are also large communities of Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus and Jews, and smaller communities of Baha'is, Buddhists, Jains and Zoroastrians.