Category: Religion

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)

Presbyterianism is a system of church governance in which ‘presbyters’, or elders, represent the congregation in the ‘presbyteries’ which are a part of the church leadership. At the top is a ‘general assembly’, or ‘general synod’, and presbyterians maintain that this type of church structure is in the Bible, whereas papacy is not. The Church of Scotland is a presbyterian church, for example.

The Presbyterian Church, with a capital P, is a Protestant church formulated on presbyterianism, which has many beliefs in opposition to Catholicism. Some even see the Pope as the antichrist. It was established in Scotland by the activist preacher John Knox in 1560, when there was an official split from the rule of the Pope. It was taken to Ireland and the USA soon afterwards. Knox was a fervent advocate of the new Protestant religion, condoning all sorts of subversive action in the anti-Catholic cause.

Presbyterians follow the King James Version of the Bible, which they judge to be the best English translation. Most churches are plain, with few images, musical instruments or modern gadgets. In England the Presbyterian church merged into the United Reformed Church in 1972. There are around half a million members of UK presbyterian churches.

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

The Gideons were formed in the USA in 1899 by a group of travelling businessmen. They wanted to spread the Christian religion and their idea was to place copies of the Bible where people can read them in a spare moment. These Bibles are free of charge to the hotels, nursing homes, schools, prisons, hospitals, campuses and military bases that agree to take them.

Thirty million Gideon Bibles have been distributed in the UK since 1949 among two billion worldwide. They are the King James version and the covers are colour-coded according to the target groups. The shortened edition, comprising the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs, is the one given to schoolchildren.

Today, other religions are wanting to copy the Gideons’ initiative, which is funded by donations from Christian supporters. Some organisations are deciding not to accept any religious books at all. The Gideons now promote their app (called ‘The Gideon Bible’) by which subscribers can search, read and listen to Bible texts.

(Image: Sarah-Rose at Flickr.com / CC BY-ND 2.0)

The Spiritualists’ National Union, founded in 1853, is the organising body for the spiritualist churches or societies in the UK, serving up to thirty thousand followers. The movement began in the USA in the 1840s and found favour in British upper class circles, intrigued by the claims of communication with dead loved ones in the spirit world via séances. This had the unfortunate result of turning these sessions into entertainment spectacles, which gave spiritualism a bad name, especially when some mediums were found to be fraudulent.

Despite this, spiritualism continued to attract followers as it envelops all kinds of spiritual searching, including tarot readings, trance circles, spiritual healing, mindfulness and meditation. It allows for a variety of beliefs and does not have a holy book. There are, however, Seven Principles, such as the ‘Fatherhood of God’ and the ‘Brotherhood of Man’. God can be referred to as the Divine Spirit, God Force, Great Spirit or simply, Spirit.

Although there are some ‘Christian’ spiritualist churches, their fundamental belief in the spirit world and reincarnation makes this controversial. Their church services include hymns, prayers and readings, but may also include spiritual healing and spirit messages for attendees.

(Image: cocoparisienne at pixabay.com)

The Protestant Church of Scotland (CofS) is the largest religion in Scotland and was formed in 1560, after The Reformation. It follows the Christian Bible and a 1647 document known as the ‘Westminster Confession of Faith’, although many members see this as outdated and would like to discard it. It has no bishops, but there is a hierarchy of Moderator, Principal Clerk, General Treasurer, councils, courts, committees, elders and ministers.

The Queen attends CofS services when she is in Scotland, but she is not the head of it. However, she and her representative, the Lord High Commissioner, are entitled to attend the CofS General Assembly conference each May. In the face of declining numbers in church (kirk) congregations, today there is more collaboration with the other Anglican churches in the UK than in the past. However, some kirks are being closed through lack of funds and ministers.

Nevertheless, the CofS continues its community projects which offer caring, nursing, befriending, sheltering and group-work opportunities. Its ‘Go For It Fund’ accepts grant applications from CofS-partnered community initiatives aimed at making a positive difference to people’s lives.

(Image: Bill Henderson at geograph.org.uk / CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Salvation Army is otherwise known as ‘the Sally Army’ in the UK, where it has around 50,000 followers. It was founded in 1865 by William and Catherine Booth in East London as a ‘mission’, before evolving into the Salvation Army in 1878. Once the name ‘Army’ was adopted, it determined the organisation’s structure. William Booth was its first General. The clergy titles are army ranks, all the way down to cadets. They wear uniforms with épaulettes and their churches are called citadel corps.

The Salvation Army has a strong evangelical purpose and is well-known for going into deprived areas and pubs in an effort to spread its message of following the teachings of Jesus Christ. Pub landlords have had Salvationists arrested for alleged interference with their right to conduct a business, since they are against the drinking of alcohol.

Originally for protection from physical attack, the brass band is another feature of the Sally Army’s ventures out to engage with the public. Their work includes running charity shops, refuges and rehabilitation centres and they have bases in over one hundred countries. One of their slogans is ‘the three Ss’..

Soup, soap and salvation.

(Image of a Salvation Army charity shop: N. Chadwick at geograph.org.uk / CC BY-SA 2.0)