Religion in England refers to those religions that are specifically active in England, as opposed to in the United Kingdom in general (for that see Religion in the United Kingdom). Though it is generally seen as a secular society today, several religions still have established presences in England. The Church of England as the official state church has a special constitutional position in the country. After Christianity, those religions with the most adherents are various forms of Islam and Hinduism. Other minority faiths include Sikhism, Judaism, Buddhism, the Bahá'í Faith, Rastafarianism and Neopaganism. There are also organisations which promote irreligion, humanism, and secularism.
In history, various other religions (usually "pagan") have been predominant in the country, namely Celtic polytheism, Anglo-Saxon paganism and Norse paganism.
Formerly major in England
These faiths, all of which are considered to be pagan, have all been predominant in the lands that later made up England, though were all made extinct through Christianisation.
Celtic polytheism
Now extinct in England, Celtic polytheism was, during the Iron Age, the predominant religion in the area now known as England.
Roman polytheism
Roman polytheism was introduced to England when the Roman Empire invaded and occupied the area. The druids, the Celtic priestly caste who were believed to originate in Britain,[1] were outlawed by Claudius,[2] and in 61 they vainly defended their sacred groves from destruction by the Romans on the island of Mona (Anglesey).[3] However, under Roman rule the Britons continued to worship native Celtic deities, such as Ancasta, but often conflated with their Roman equivalents, like Mars Rigonemetos at Nettleham.
The degree to which earlier native beliefs survived is difficult to gauge precisely. Certain northern European ritual traits such as the significance of the number 3, the importance of the head and of water sources such as springs remain in the archaeological record, but the differences in the votive offerings made at Bath before and after the Roman conquest suggest that continuity was only partial. Worship of the emperor is widely recorded, especially at military sites. The founding of a temple to Claudius at Camulodunum was one of the impositions that led to the revolt of Boudica.
Eastern cults such as Mithraism also grew in popularity towards the end of the occupation. The Temple of Mithras is one example of the popularity of mystery religions amongst the rich urban classes.
Germanic paganism
In the Dark Ages, immigrants from the European continent arrived, bringing Anglo-Saxon paganism, a subset of Germanic paganism with them. Later, after most of the Anglo-Saxon peoples had converted to Christianity, Vikings from Scandinavia arrived, bringing with them Norse paganism.
Christianity
- Further information: Early Insular Christianity, Anglo-Saxon Christianity, and History of the Church of England
Christianity was first introduced through the Romans (English mythology links the introduction of Christianity to England to the Glastonbury legend of Joseph of Arimathea; see also the legend of Saint Lucius). Archaeological evidence for Christian communities begins to appear in the 3rd and 4th centuries. The Romano-British population after the withdrawal of the Roman legions was mostly Christian.
The arrival of the Anglo-Saxons introduced Anglo-Saxon polytheism to what is now England.
Christianity was re-introduced into England through missionaries from Scotland and from Continental Europe; the era of St. Augustine (the first Archbishop of Canterbury) and the Celtic Christian missionaries in the north (notably St. Aidan and St. Cuthbert). The Synod of Whitby in 664 ultimately led to the English Church being fully part of Roman Catholicism. Early English Christian documents surviving from this time include the 7th-century illuminated Lindisfarne Gospels and the historical accounts written by the Venerable Bede.
Norman nobles and bishops had influence before the Norman Conquest of 1066, and Norman influences affected late Anglo-Saxon architecture. Edward the Confessor was brought up in Normandy, and in 1042 brought masons to work on Westminster Abbey, the first Romanesque building in England. The cruciform churches of Norman architecture often had deep chancels and a square crossing tower which has remained a feature of English ecclesiastical architecture. Hundreds of parish churches were built and the first great English cathedrals. England has many early cathedrals, most notably York Minster (1080), Durham Cathedral (1093) and Salisbury Cathedral (1220). After a fire damaged Canterbury Cathedral in 1174 Norman masons introduced the new Gothic architecture. Around 1191 Wells Cathedral and Lincoln Cathedral brought in the English Gothic style.
Pope Innocent III placed the kingdom of England under an interdict for seven years between 1208 and 1215 after King John refused to accept the pope's appointee as Archbishop of Canterbury.
Saints
Saint Alban is venerated by some as the first Christian martyr in England. Saint George is generally recognised as the patron saint of England - the flag of England consists of the cross of St George.
Anglicanism
In 1536, the Church was split from Rome over the issue of the divorce of King Henry VIII from Catherine of Aragon. The split led to the emergence of a separate ecclesiastical authority, and later the influence of the Reformation, resulting in the Church of England and Anglicanism. For more detail of this period see the following articles:
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- Act of Supremacy (1534): declared that Henry VIII was 'the only supreme head on earth of the Church in England' and required the nobility to swear an oath recognising Henry's supremacy.
- Six Articles (1539): although the organisation of the church in England was reformed, the articles reaffirmed Catholic doctrine.
- Book of Common Prayer and Book of Common Order
- Prayer Book Rebellion
- Marian Persecutions and Marian exiles: during the re-establishment of Roman Catholicism in England under Mary I, some Protestants were persecuted and some upheld their faith in exile.
- Elizabethan Religious Settlement: under Elizabeth I political and religious stability was maintained by means of a compromise in both doctrine and practice between the Anglicanism of Henry VIII and that of Edward VI
- Priest hole: wealthy Roman Catholics constructed hiding places in their houses for priests.
- James I of England and religious issues
- Gunpowder Plot: in 1605 an attempt to assassinate King James VI and I and the Protestant establishment entrenched anti-Catholic sentiment.
- The Vicar of Bray: the changes of political and religious régime required office holders to show flexibility in their declared convictions, as satirised in the popular song The Vicar of Bray.
- Westminster Assembly (1643): appointed by the Long Parliament to restructure the Church of England, drew up the Westminster Confession of Faith (which became, and remains, the 'subordinate standard' of doctrine in the Church of Scotland and has been influential within Presbyterian churches worldwide.)
- 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith: written by Calvinistic Baptists in England to give a formal expression of the Reformed and Protestant Christian faith with an obvious Baptist perspective.
- Royal Declaration of Indulgence (1672): Charles II attempted to extend religious liberty to Protestant nonconformists in his realms.
- Declaration of Indulgence (1687–1688): James II attempted to establish freedom of religion in England.
- Seven Bishops: bishops of the Church of England who petitioned James II against the Declaration of Indulgence were imprisoned.
- Popish Plot (1678–1681): a conspiracy to discredit Catholics in England accused Catholics of plotting.
- Exclusion Bill: sought to exclude the Charles II's brother and heir presumptive, James, Duke of York, from the throne of England because he was Catholic.
- Penal law: a specific series of laws that sought to uphold the establishment of the Church of England against Protestant nonconformists and Roman Catholics, by imposing various forfeitures, civil penalties, and civil disabilities upon these dissenters.
- Test Act: required a religious test of officials to ensure conformity with the established church.
- Act of Uniformity 1662: required the use of all the rites and ceremonies in the Book of Common Prayer in Church of England services, and episcopal ordination for all ministers.
- Conventicle Act 1664: forbade religious assemblies of more than five people outside the auspices of the Church of England.
- Five Mile Act 1665: forbade clergymen from living within five miles (8 km) of a parish from which they had been banned
- Nonjuring schism: the Anglican Church split in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, over whether William of Orange could legally be recognized as King of England.
Today, the Church of England is the established church in England. It regards itself as in continuity with the pre-Reformation state Catholic church, but has been a distinct Anglican church since the settlement under Elizabeth I (with some disruption during the 17th-century Commonwealth period). The British Monarch is formally Supreme Governor of the Church of England, but its spiritual leader is the Archbishop of Canterbury, who is regarded by convention as the head of the worldwide communion of Anglican Churches (see Anglican Communion). In practice the Church of England is governed by the General Synod, under the authority of Parliament.
Roman Catholicism
Roman Catholicism was the first Christian denomination in England, and, up until 1540, was the main church in England. It is currently administered territorially as the Catholic Church in England and Wales.
Methodism
A strong tradition of Methodism developed from the 18th century onwards. The Methodist revival was started in England by a group of men including John Wesley and his younger brother Charles as a movement within the Church of England, but developed as a separate denomination after John Wesley's death.
Islam
- Further information: Islam in England
Muslim population in English local authority areas.
Although Islam is generally thought of as being a recent arrival to the country, there has been contact with Muslims for many centuries. An early example would be the decision of Offa, the eighth-century King of Mercia (one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms existing at that time), to have coins minted with an Islamic inscription on them - copies of coins issued by the near-contemporary Muslim ruler Al-Mansur. It is thought that they were minted to facilitate trade with the expanding Islamic empire in Spain.[4]
Muslim scholarship was well-known among the learned in England by 1386, when Chaucer was writing. In the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, there is among the pilgrims wending their way to Canterbury, a 'Doctour of Phisyk' whose learning included Razi, Avicenna (Ibn Sina, Arabic ابن سينا) and Averroes (Ibn Rushd, Arabic ابن رشد). Ibn Sina's canon of medicine was a standard text for medical students well into the 17th century.
Islam is the second largest religion in England. Notable mosques include; the London Central Mosque, Al-Rahma mosque, Birmingham Central Mosque, East London Mosque, Finsbury Park Mosque, London Markaz and Markazi mosque.
Judaism
- Further information: History of the Jews in England
Until the 20th century Judaism was the only noticeable non-Christian religion having first appeared in historical records during the Norman Conquest of 1066. In fact, from 1290 to 1656, Judaism did not officially exist in England due to an outright expulsion in 1290 and official restrictions that were not lifted until 1656 (though historical records show that some Jews did come back to England during the early part of the 17th century prior to the lifting of the restriction).
Hinduism
- Further information: Hinduism in the United Kingdom
Early Hindus in England were mostly students during the 19th century. There have been three waves of migration of Hindus to England since then.
Before India's Independence in 1947, Hindu migration was minuscule and largely temporary. The second wave of Hindu migration occurred in the 1970s after the expulsion of Gujarati Hindus from Uganda. Initially, Hindu immigration was limited to Punjabi and Gujarati Hindus, but, by 2000, small Hindu communities of every ethnicity could be found in England. England is also host to a large immigrant community of Sri Lankan Hindus who are mostly Tamils. The last wave of migration of Hindus has been taking place since the 1990s with refugees from Sri Lanka and professionals from India.
Sikhism
- Further information: Sikhism in England
The first Sikh Gurdwara (temple) was not established until 1911, at Putney in London.
The first Sikh migration came in the 1950s. It was mostly of men from the Punjab seeking work in industries like foundries and textiles. These new arrivals mostly settled in London, Birmingham and West Yorkshire. Thousands of Sikhs from East Africa followed.
Buddhism
- Further information: Buddhism in the United Kingdom
The earliest Buddhist influence on England came through the UK's imperial connections with South East Asia, and as a result the early connections were with the Theravada traditions of Burma, Thailand, and Sri Lanka. The tradition of study resulted in the foundation of the Pali Text Society, which undertook the task of translating the Pali Canon of Buddhist texts into English.
In 1924 London’s Buddhist Society was founded, and in 1926 the Theravadin London Buddhist Vihara. The rate of growth was slow but steady through the century, and the 1950s saw the development of interest in Zen Buddhism.
No Religion
England has a large and growing atheist and agnostic population, in this respect it is no different from any other modern Post-Christian country [5]. In the 2001 Census, 15 per cent of the population reported having no religion [6], indeed, of those who reported having a religion, over half have never attended a religious service.[7]
Some evidence for the decline of religion in the United Kingdom can be found in the increasing number of civil marriage ceremonies, which have surpassed religious ceremonies since 1992, and now account for 66 per cent of all ceremonies [8]. The large increase in roadside memorials [9] and other ad hoc memorials, likewise, show a movement away from organised ceremony to more personal, and spontaneous events.
See also
References
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