Category: Religion

When the Church of Scotland (CofS) was confirmed as that nation’s Established Church in the early 1700s, the other main branch of Scottish Reform Christianity set itself up formally as the Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC). Like the presbyterian CofS, it conducts baptism and communion, but it also offers confirmation, holy matrimony, confession, ordination and healing, in a similar way to the Church of England, Church in Wales and Church of Ireland, .

‘Episcopus’ is Latin for ‘bishop’ and an episcopal church is run by its bishops, who are the authority figures. The SEC has seven of these and each has a region, or diocese, of Scotland. Each diocese has one cathedral, but Argyll & The Isles diocese has two; one for Argyll and one for The Isles. The bishops elect a top bishop, called the Primus (inter pares) ~ first among equals.

Every SEC service has the same timetable in accordance with the Common Book of Prayer. The SEC maintains that it enjoys and benefits from its independence from a national tie and this is seen in the occasional policy difference with its Anglican neighbours. It is also regarded as straddling the divide between Protestantism and Catholicism, a position that encourages “lively debate”.

(Top image: Bill Harrison at geograph.org.uk / CC BY-SA 2.0)

Londoner John Nelson Darby (1800-82) decided he wanted a purer version of Protestantism than was being practised by the Established Church and so joined a small group that had its first meeting in Plymouth in 1831, hence the name ‘Plymouth Brethren’. They saw the world as wicked, necessitating the Second Coming of Christ, at which time true believers would be rushed up to heavenly safety.

By 1848 there were profound disagreements between them and the Brethren split into the Open and Exclusive branches. Exclusive Brethren have gained a negative reputation since they have nothing to do with outsiders, to the extent that they will not eat with them or live next-door to them. They do not own TVs, radios or music-players and do not use the internet. People who leave are barred for life, even from their families. This is justified by their literal interpretation of the Bible.

While there are only a few thousand Exclusives, there are perhaps 50,000 followers of the more progressive Open Brethren in the UK. Unlike the Exclusives, they now allow full-time pastors, although any man (not woman) can preach. The Lord’s Supper is a main focus of Brethren meetings and the family is the focus of Brethren life.

(Image of Brethren meeting unit in Wiltshire: Jaggery at geograph.org.uk / CC BY-SA 2.0)

Jainism is one of those religions that, in their purest forms, do not fit in too well with Western society, yet it has also been described as the world’s most peaceful religion. It began in India with the religious teacher Mahavir (599-527BC) and spread to East Africa, eventually establishing a UK foothold from 1972 onwards with Ugandan immigration.

Jain monks and nuns, in their last reincarnation before reaching nirvana, must be celibate, disown their family and shun all the trappings of modern life, including electricity, the internet, possessions, cooking and shoes. They travel by foot from place to place and survive on small donations of food. Their head is shaved, they wear white robes, sweep ants from their path and cover their noses and mouths with cloth to avoid inhaling flying insects.

The Jain beliefs centre around graduating from the need to reincarnate. There is no deity but there are spiritual souls, and life is a test of abstinence in order to attain enlightenment. The five Great Vows are of non-violence, detachment, truthfulness, sexual restraint and no stealing. No alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, chocolate, pickles, spices, eggs or meat may be consumed, so they are almost vegan except that milk is allowed.

(Image [cropped] of the Jain temple at Potters Bar: Vrdah at Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0)

Followers of Islam (Muslims), first arrived in the UK from the Indian sub-continent some 300 years ago. By 2011 there were 2.5 million British Muslims. While a strict adherence to the practice and beliefs of the religion of Islam appear difficult to integrate into British culture, the younger UK-born generations have inevitably had the most success with this.

Islam shares parts of the Bible and some important figures with Christianity ~ Adam, Abraham, Moses, Noah, the Angel Gabriel and Jesus. It also believes in one God (‘Allah’) and has a holy site in Jerusalem. However, the differences in traditional beliefs are evident, particularly on rights for women and children, and on food animal welfare.

Muhammad (570-632) is revered as the last prophet and is said to have been visited by Angel Gabriel. The Quran/Koran is the main holy text and the ‘Five Pillars of Islam’ are the actions which devotees must carry out. These include praying five times a day, preferably in the direction of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, where Islam began. At least one pilgrimage must also be made to Mecca and one month of fasting in daylight hours carried out during ‘Ramadam’.

(Image of Islamic mosque in Rochdale: Michael Ely at geograph.org.uk / CC BY-SA 2.0)

By 2001 there had been four ‘Star Wars’ films made in the USA and a worldwide fanbase was well established. In the UK’s census of that year there was a new question on religion and over 400,000 people wrote “Jedi” or “Jedi Knight” under ‘Other’. This took pop-culture to a whole new level, although some Jediists claimed that the film franchise had merely highlighted a pre-existing spiritual pathway.

As well as the Jedi Code, there are 16 Teachings, 21 Maxims and 33 Jedi Teachings To Live By, all of which are wholesome and relevant to the modern world. Sermons are given online by Jedi Masters, but some groups meet to practise their lightsaber techniques.

The attention-grabbing census statistic tickled the British sense of humour and was the result of an email sent to fans, declaring that if at least 10,000 of them put “Jedi” on their forms, the authorities would be obliged to recognise Jediism as a legitimate religion. Although it was not, in fact, recognised in that way, the census administrators did allocate it code 896 for the next census in 2011, in which less than half of the original followers still kept the faith. Furthermore, the Temple of the Jedi Order was refused charitable status in 2016.

(Image: Webster2703 at needpix.com / Public domain)

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)