Category: Religion

The idea of Congregationalism is that Protestants do not need a hierarchy of clergy standing between them and God, merely a ‘priesthood of all believers’. There may be ‘elders’ in each individual church, but these are not to be regarded as elevated authorities. All that is required is to follow Jesus Christ and to be directed by the Bible. Another name for the Congregational church, used mainly in Wales, is the Independent church.

The seeds of Congregationalism were sown by Rutland-born Robert Browne (1550-1633), who published his daring proposal for simplified church governance in 1582 from the relative safety of The Netherlands, only to return to England a couple of years later to take up a regular post with the Church of England.

Nevertheless, the concept resulted in the first Congregational church gatherings being held in Monmouthshire in 1639 and by the time of the English Civil War there were Congregationalists involved on the Parliamentary side all the way up to Oliver Cromwell himself. Today, many Congregational and Independent churches have linked with other reform churches, but their basic principle is to be self-sufficient and to have committed members who are prepared to have a say, if necessary, in the church’s activities.

(Image: Ruth Sharville at geograph.org.uk / CC BY-SA 2.0)

Humanism in the UK is a collection of atheistic ideas promoted by an organisation which began as the Union of Ethical Societies in 1896, then became the Ethical Union in 1928. In 1967 it was re-named the British Humanist Association and from 2017 it has been Humanists UK. They have 70,000 members but claim that millions of Britons share their anti-religious views.

Whereas religion has been an integral part of British history and culture, humanists would like to see it disentangled from our institutions and national ceremonies. They are against having the Established Church, faith schools, Religious Education lessons and religious school assemblies. They would like bishops removed from the House of Lords and for there to be no religious privileges, laws or courts. They are also campaigning for humanist weddings to be recognised throughout the UK.

Instead, they believe that innate and learned human morals and self-control are sufficient to glue a decent society together. These lives are one-offs and humanists support having the choice of euthanasia. They do not believe in any after-life or spirituality and life’s sole purpose is to seek happiness. Humanists have no faith in what cannot be seen; only in what is proved by logic, reason and evidence.

(Image of a ‘No Prayer Breakfast’ organised by the British Humanist Association: Andrew West at Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0)

In 1735, two young men from mid-Wales, Howell Harris (1714-73) and Daniel Rowland (1713-90) joined the Church of England to become clergymen. Both were enthusiastic, fire-and-brimstone evangelists, preaching outside if necessary. Harris once commandeered a village green surrounded by seventeen pubs! The CofE shunned their controversial style, which naturally attracted large crowds for its graphic warnings of damnation.

Exasperated at the CofE’s attitude, they decided to form their own groups in common with English Methodists. However, they diverged from them too in 1740, when they backed the assertion of Frenchman Jean Cauvin (Calvin) (1509-64) that God has already decided who to save and who to send to eternal death and, as depraved mankind, we cannot change this. Under the Toleration Act of 1795, the movement could eventually ordain its own priests, called ‘exhorters’. The Calvinistic Methodists broke with the CofE in 1811 and established a Confession of Faith in 1823.

They thrived all over Wales and were responsible for teaching many to read via Biblical study in their Sunday schools, open to all ages, not just children. They reached their peak in 1926, when they had 190,000 followers. Today there are 20,000 in six hundred chapels and the names ‘The Presbyterian Church of Wales’ or simply ‘the Methodists’ are also used.

(Image: John Thomas at Wikimedia Commons / Public domain)

The Church of Ireland covers both Ireland and Northern Ireland, since it was established long before the partition. It traces its roots to the legacy of the Irish patron saint, St. Patrick, in the fifth century. It sees itself as Catholic and Protestant, though it may not be equally so, having much more of a Catholic appearance.

It differentiates itself from the Roman Catholic church in that it does not take the Pope in Rome as its head. Instead, it has two Archbishops, with the Archbishop of Armagh holding the post of President of the General Synod. Another difference is the adherence to Catholic beliefs as they were before the Reformation and rejection of new dogma brought in after that, e.g. that a belief in the Virgin Mary’s ‘immaculate conception’ and swift journey into heaven is essential for one’s own salvation.

They also do not accept the extra books of the Old Testament ~ the ‘Apocrypha’ ~ as part of their holy texts, though they may use them for reference. They do, however, offer confession, give Holy Communion and celebrate saints’ days with all the accompanying rituals and regalia one would expect. There are 375,000 followers, with two-thirds of those in Northern Ireland.

(Image: William Murphy at Flickr.com / CC BY-SA 2.0)

Marcus Garvey (1887-1940) was a political activist who gave Afro-Jamaicans a prediction in 1920 ~  that a future king in Africa would be their redeemer. The crowning of Emperor Haile Selassie (1892-1975) in Ethiopia in 1930 therefore acquired theological importance and they became his followers from afar. Despite Selassie refuting their claims that he embodied the ‘Second Coming’ and asking them not to emigrate to Africa, they formed the Rastafari religion, taking the title from Selassie’s pre-coronation name.

Without any group leadership, Rasta practices and beliefs took time to coalesce. A few more Afro-Caribbean activists published treatises and the Rastafari held ‘reasonings’ in which they would smoke cannabis, have debates and choose parts of the Bible to support their ideas. The Rastafari want to change Western society (‘Babylon’), since they believe white people and women are subordinate.

This came to the UK in the 1950s-1960s with Jamaican immigration and reached its peak of public attention in the 1970s, coinciding with the popularity of Rasta reggae artiste, Bob Marley (1945-81), whose lyrics describe Rasta hopes and beliefs. After the political toppling and subsequent death of their deity, Selassie, and the early death of Marley, British Rasta numbers diminished, but Rastafari has left its cultural mark.

(Top image: Rod Waddington at Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0)

The 2,500-year-old practice of Buddhism first came to Britain from Asia in the late nineteenth century. The Buddhist Society of Great Britain was formed in 1907, followed by The London Buddhist Society in 1924. There was another surge of interest in the ‘Swinging Sixties’ and there are now around 250,000 followers in the UK, with the largest community centred around the Gurkha Regiments in Hampshire.

Its non-evangelical, non-dogmatic and non-exclusive approach means that it can run alongside other faiths and it has a long history of fitting in with different cultures across the world. It is said that Buddhism is more of an understanding of psychological processes than a religion and indeed, in the UK, it is probably best known for offering meditation and mindfulness classes at its centres.

At some temples there are nuns or monks who give teachings, blessings and ceremonies which are adapted to a Western environment. Some of the chants are in English, for example. Most of the sects of Buddhism are represented in the UK and although the common goal is to achieve ‘enlightenment’, each sect has its own preferred ‘great teacher’ or protector, its own rituals and sometimes its own ideas on Buddhist principles such as ‘karma’.

(Image: Thomas Riggs at Flickr.com / CC BY-NC 2.0)

Wicca, also known as ‘The Craft (of the Wise)’, owes its modern surge in popularity to Lancashire-born Gerald Brosseau Gardner (1884-1964). He retired to Dorset in 1938 and became involved in two local groups ~ the naturists and the secret followers of a mystery tradition. Gardner’s ‘Book of Shadows’ is regarded as the ultimate Wiccan manual and Gardner himself as the father of modern witchcraft, although a Wiccan may or may not be a witch.

Potential Wiccans are expected to request initiation rather than being converted. Some covens then give them a year’s grace period before instruction begins. Only adults are accepted. Their rites and rituals generally take place in woods or parks and involve moving in a circle to help generate spiritual energy. The circle features in the Wiccan symbol, the pentagram or pentacle, where it represents the universe and the five points the elements of fire, air, water, earth and spirit.

Today it is possible to take the first steps towards becoming a Wiccan by online correspondence course. It is one of the fastest-growing religions in the UK and other parts of the world. Its reverence for nature and old pagan ways strikes home with many people seeking a spiritual path.

(Top image of Gardner’s Book of Shadows: Midnightblueowl at Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0)

More of a theological movement than a religion, Unitarianism began in eastern Europe after the Reformation. Its name comes from its assertion that God is not split into three, as in Catholicism’s Trinity of ‘the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost/Spirit’, but is a single, omnipresent divinity. This was adopted in the UK in the 1700s by the non-conformist Protestant factions, keen to take on radical change.

Although Unitarianism was seen as heretical at the time, Theophilus Lindsey set up the first openly Unitarian church in 1774 in London, in what is now the headquarters of ‘The General Assembly of Unitarian & Free Christian Churches’. Unitarianism gained legal status in 1813 and reached its peak of popularity over the next century.

The services  held in each of its 170 churches, chapels and meeting rooms vary in format according to each congregation’s wishes. Some services focus on meditation alone. It has no creed, dogmas or rules. Jesus Christ is regarded as a charismatic human, not the son of God. Indeed, a belief in God is not even required, as the aim is for each person to discuss, ponder and reach their own conclusions on spirituality. It truly is a ‘broad church’.

(Image of Brighton Unitarian Church: Cathy Cox at geograph.org.uk / CC BY-SA 2.0)

The two Archbishops are the most senior members of the Church of England. Of the two, the Archbishop of Canterbury is held to be above the Archbishop of York and it is he who has the privilege of crowning a new king or queen, for example. They are replaced only upon death, retirement or resignation and the selection process is quite convoluted, culminating in a submission to the Prime Minister and finally the monarch.

There have been one hundred and five Archbishops of Canterbury.  The very first was St. Augustine, who was enthroned in 601 and the current incumbent is The Most Reverend Justin Welby, enthroned in 2013. He has two official residences, one at Lambeth Palace in London, the other at Old Palace in Canterbury itself. He has authority over thirty dioceses in the south.

There have been ninety-seven Archbishops of York, the first being Paulinus in 626 and the latest being The Most Reverend John Sentamu, who is due to retire in 2020. His official residence is at Bishopthorpe Palace near York and he has authority over fourteen dioceses in the north. In the past there have been quarrels about which Archbishop took precedence, but an Act of Parliament in 1539 confirmed Canterbury’s status.

(Image of current Archbishop of Canterbury: richardwcollins at Flickr.com / CC BY-ND 2.0)

St. Columba (521-97) was born into the Irish aristocracy and was educated at a Christian monastery, after which he became a monk himself and then a priest. Thanks to his family connections, he was occasionally given land on which to found a new monastery. The most famous of these was on the tiny island of Iona off the west coast of Scotland, but the first one was in Derry, where St. Columba is the patron saint.

Many myths and tales grew up around his missionary work, attributing him with miracles and clairvoyance. They resulted in a cult following and a community of monasteries and churches of the Columban order, including Lindisfarne, Kells and Durrow. Iona became a place of pilgrimage for early Christians, though no women were allowed there in his lifetime. It is said that he also banned frogs, snakes and cows!

A huge bonus in his energetic efforts to convert Scottish pagans were the new skills of reading and writing, which he and his monks were able to teach and use to record historical facts and to compose hymns and poetry. They excelled in the art of ‘illuminated manuscripts’, ‘The Book of Kells’ being one example.

(Top image: Jim Forest/Aidan Hart at Flickr.com / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

The term ‘Hinduism‘ covers a rich diversity of beliefs and practices. There are few rules and the sacred texts are open to personal interpretation. It is a pluralistic religion which has been in the UK since the early 1800s. There are now 1,050,000 Hindus, mainly in London and the Midlands. The London Borough of Harrow has the highest density of Hindus, at 25% of the population.

Hinduism was brought in by immigrants from India, Nepal, Uganda, Sri Lanka and parts of the West Indies. It promotes peace and keeping to the law, educational achievement, hard work and the entrepreneurial spirit. Some Hindus pray daily at the temple and have periods of meditation and fasting, while others do these moderately or not at all. Some follow particular gods or saints, such as Vishnu, Shiva or Shakti, while others are atheists, seeing Hinduism as a philosophy rather than a religion.

The first purpose-built British Hindu temple was in Slough, where it opened in 1981. There are now nearly two hundred. Core Hindu principles include duty and karma, and all Hindus believe in the cycle of reincarnation until the soul is finally released.

(Image of chuch converted to temple in Manchester: R. Greenhalgh at geograph.org.uk / CC BY-SA 2.0)

‘Pagan’ has in the past been used as a derogatory label for an uneducated, unrefined peasant, but since the 1960s it has been revitalised as a term for someone who finds no sense in the church-based religions and is much more interested in connecting with the spiritualism of the natural world. Paganism is thousands of years old and was well-established in Britain before Christianity arrived.

Paganism includes the practices of the Druids, witches, and Wiccans, all of whom have been persecuted and demonised by zealous Christians. Their refusal to anthropomorphise the divine spirit and believe in religious wars resulted in them having to conduct their rituals in secret and their numbers gradually decreased.

However, the simple, non-dogmatic, traditional principles of paganism attract many followers today. Due to our society and landscape being quite different to pre-Christian times and the length of time that paganism has been hidden or disguised, the term ‘neopagan’ is often used to describe them. It is said that all of our present-day seasonal celebrations are originally pagan ~ Christmas, for instance ~ so neopagans have their own rituals at these times of the year.

(Image: Paul Walker at Flickr.com / CC BY-SA 2.0)