Religions

in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Olesia Hoban
 Аncient times
In the 1st Century AD, Britain had its own set of
religious icons: Pagan gods of the earth and Roman
gods of the sky. Into this superstitious and violent world
came a modern, fashionable cult from the east:
Christianity. During the 4th Century, British Christianity
became more visible but it had not yet won over the
hearts and minds of the population. Pagan beliefs still
abounded and Christianity was a minority faith.
We tend to associate the arrival of Christianity in
Britain with the mission of Augustine in 597 AD. But in
fact Christianity arrived long before then, and in the 1st
Century AD, there wasn't an organised attempt to
convert the British. It began when Roman artisans and
traders arriving in Britain spread the story of Jesus
along with stories of their Pagan deities.
 Stonehenge
For centuries, historians and archaeologists have puzzled over the many mysteries of, the prehistoric
monument that took Neolithic builders an estimated 1,500 years to erect. Located in southern England, it is
comprised of roughly 100 massive upright stones placed in a circular layout.
Stonehenge is perhaps the world’s most famous prehistoric monument. It was built in several stages: the
first monument was an early henge monument, built about 5,000 years ago, and the unique stone circle was
erected in the late Neolithic period about 2500 BC. In the early Bronze Age many burial mounds were built
nearby.
Today, together with Avebury, Stonehenge forms the heart of a World Heritage Site, with a unique
concentration of prehistoric monuments
 CHURCH OF ENGLAND

 • Church and State never dissociated

 • The Church of England is the Established (Official) Church
 • Variety of Christian Denominations: Methodists, Baptists and the United
Reformed Church
History
 Until 1530’ Britain was Catholic
Rallied Protestantism in 16th
Century Henry VIII needed the
agreement of the pope to divorce
from Ann Boleyne 1533 Act of
Supremacy: Henry declared to be
“The only Supreme Head on earth
of the Church of England.”
England broke from the Roman
Catholic Church to form the
Anglican Church.
Catholicsm vs Protestantism
Catholics Protestants

Pope Heads the church, Vicar of No human is infallible and Jesus

Christ alone heads up the Church

Big Fancy Cathedrals “humanity must discover its All Christians can be saved,
unity and salvation” within a regardless of church
church membership

Saints Pray to saints (holy dead acknowledge saints, but don’t

people) in addition to God and pray to them
Jesus

Celibacy & Nuns Catholics only Priests/Pastors can marry

Scripture Tradition & bible Only the word of god

Interpretation ... Only the pope can interpret Individual Interpretation
the bible
Confession of sins To God through priests To God through Jesus
Westminster abbey
The coronation church for the British Monarch
 York Minster
The centre of Christianity in the north of England
St. Albans Cathedral

One of the oldest Anglican church in St Albans

 Jews
 • Violent persecution in the Middle Ages(York massacre 1190)
 • Expelled by Edward I in 1290
 • Allowed back in 1657 in exchange for finance
 Muslims
 • 1890 first mosque on British soil
 • Marriages celebrated by imams not valid
 • Muslim schools granted state funding
 • 8 muslim MPs and 12 muslim Peers
 • 9/11 and the 2005 London Bombings