Other Religious Communities

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 390.

Jewry

The Roman Catholic Church

There are now seven Roman Catholic provinces in Great Britain, each under an archbishop, 30 episcopal dioceses, and over 3,000 parishes. In Northern Ireland, there are six dioceses, some of which have territory partly in the Irish Republic. It is estimated that there are some 5-7 million adherents to the Roman Catholic faith in Britain. In 1982 Pope John Paul II paid a pastoral visit to Britain, the first by a reigning pontiff.

Jews first settled in England at the time of the Norman conquest, but the community in Britain dates from 1656; consist­ing of some 40,000 people, including both Sephardi (originally from Spain and Portugal) and Ashkenazi (from Germany and East­ern Europe), it has become one of the largest groups of Jews in Europe. The community is divided into two schools of thought: the Orthodox, to which about 80 per cent of practising Jews be­long; and the Reform, which originated in 1840 and was followed in 1901 by the liberal Jewish movement. The Chief Rabbi is the head of the largest group (Ashkenazi) within Orthodox Jewry; the Haham is the head of the Sephardi group. Jewish congregations in Britain number about 350. Jewish denominational schools are attended by about one in four Jewish children.

Immigration into Britain during the past 30 years has cre­ated substantial non-Christian communities. There are now an estimated 1.5 million Muslims in the country, and there are large Hindu and Sikh communities. The Islamic Cultural Centre (and London Central Mosque) on the edge of Regent's Park, is the most important Muslim institution in the Western World, and there are mosques in almost every town and city where Muslims have settled. The Hindus and the Sikhs have several hundred temples in Britain, and arrangements have been made in places of work to allow the members of non-Christian religions to follow their religious observances. There is a Buddhist Society, with its head­quarters in London, which publicises the principles of Buddhism and encourages their study and practice. It adheres to no one school of Buddhism.

2.

Everyone in the UK has the right to religious free­dom. Religious organizations and groups may conduct their rites and ceremonies, promote their beliefs within the limits of the law, own property and run schools. There is no religious bar to the holding of public office

Christianity is the predominant religious tradition in the UK in terms of the size of its followers, but there are also large Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Sikh communities and smaller communities of Budhists, Jains and Zoroastrians. Although members within each community share many beliefs and practices, there may be significant dif­ferences of tradition, organization, language and ethnicity. There has been a significant development of other forms of religious expression, with the growth of a range of independent churches and other groups often referred to as “cults” or “sects” which have now become known collectively as “new religious movements”. Another re­gent trend has been the rise in “New Age” spirituality drawn from a variety of spiritual traditions and practices and characterized by a concern for ecology and personal development. The UK also has a large proportion of peo­ple who may actively involve themselves in religious life only at times of crisis or significant events such as birth marriage and death. Organizations such as the British Humanist Association and the National Secular Society otter non-religious alternatives.

There are two churches legally recognized as official churches of the State, or established churches, in the UK: in England the Anglican Church of England and in Scot­land the Presbyterian Church of Scotland.

The Church of England became the established church during the Reformation in the 16th century Conflicts between Church and State culminated in the Act of Su­premacy in 1534 which declared Henry VIII to be the Supreme Head of the Church of England. The title was altered to "Supreme Governor" by Elizabeth I.

The monarch is the "Supreme Governor" of the Church of England and must always be a member of the Church, and promise to uphold it. The Church can regulate its own worship. Church of England archbishops, bishops and deans of cathedrals are appointed by the Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister, although the Crown Appointment Commission, which includes lay and clergy representatives, plays a key role in the selection of arch­bishops and diocesan bishops.

All clergy swear allegiance to the Crown. The two archbishops (of Canterbury and York), the bishops of London, Durham and Winchester and 21 other senior bishops sit in the House of Lords. The Government does not approve any change in the transitional House of Lords in the representation of the Church within the House.

The Church of England is part of a worldwide com­munion of Anglican churches. These are similar in orga­nization and worship to the Church of England and originated from it. There are four distinct Anglican Churches in the British Isles: the Church of England, the Church in Wales, the Episcopal Church in Scotland, and the Church of Ireland. Each is governed separately by its own insti­tutions.

The Church of Scotland became the national church following the Scottish Reformation in the late 16th centu­ry and legislation enacted by the Scottish Parliament. The Church of Scotland has a Presbyterian form of gov­ernment.

The term “Free Churches” is often used to describe those Protestant churches in the UK, which, unlike the Church of England and the Church of Scotland, are not established churches. Free Churches have existed in var­ious forms since the Reformation, developing their own traditions over the years. Their members have also been known as nonconformists. All the major Free Churches — Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, United Reformed and Salvation Army— have ministers of both sexes.

The Methodist Church, the largest of the Free Churches, originated in the 18^th century. The Baptist first achieved an organized form in Britain in the 17th century. The third largest of the Free Churches is the United Reformed Church. It was formed in 1972. The Salvation Army was founded in the East End of London in 1865 by William Booth (1829-1912). Within the UK it is second only to the government as a provider of social services. It is the largest provider of hostel accommodation, offering 4,000 beds every night. Other services include work with alco­holics, prison chaplaincy and a family tracing service.

Churches together in Britain and Ireland is the main coordinating body for the Christian churches in the UK. The Council coordinates the work of its 32 member churches and associations of churches, in the areas of social responsibility, international affairs, church life, world mission, racial justice and inter-faith relations.

Among other faith communities in the UK one can mention the Buddhist Community, the Hindu Communi­ty, the Jewish Community, the Muslim Community, the Sikh Community and other faiths. A number of new reli­gious movements, established since the Second World War and often with overseas origins, are active in the UK.

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