Most Common Religions In England

Anglicanism

In England most popular religion is Anglicanism which originates from Henry VIII's break with the Roman Church, consolidating this as the official religion throughout the UK, but over the years and consequently the colonies became popular other religions throughout the kingdom. The term Anglican, Anglicanism and its derivative, from Medieval Latin ecclesia Anglican, meaning English church, is used to describe people, institutions and churches, as well as the liturgical traditions and theological concepts developed by both the Church of England, in particular, as the ecclesiastical provinces of the Anglican Communion.

Principal Aspects: The Anglican Communion, a fellowship of 38 large and interdependent autonomous provinces that are in full communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury, is one of the most numerous Christian communities in the world, with approximately 77 million members.

The Anglican Communion is considered a full part of the Christian Church: one, holy, catholic and apostolic, and Catholic and Reformed states in this regard, it is interesting the phrase of Dean Henry Forrester (Mexico, 1906): `Catholic, but not Roman and Evangelical, but not Protestant`.


But along the lines of classical Anglicanism, approaches the Elizabethan theologian Richard Hooker XVI century in Essays on Ecclesiastical Polity, continue to express the Anglican identity as prudent combination of these two Christian traditions, a middle way between the two, through a balanced application of three essential criteria of faith and ethics: Holy Scripture, Apostolic Tradition and Reason.

1 Bible or the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, as the basis of the Christian faith.
Apostles' and Nicene Creeds 2.The as sufficient summaries of faith contained in Scripture.
3. The Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist, as indispensable means, external and sensitive (instituted by Christ), as a means of God's grace, which is internal and spiritual. This hierarchy does not eliminate the other five traditional sacraments (Penance, Confirmation, Marriage, Ordination and Anointing of the Sick) that were instituted by the Church with the authority of Christ, are added to the first two.
4. The Anglicans (Episcopalians) have uninterrupted apostolic succession recognized by the Orthodox churches and catholic vetero. Pope Leo XIII in the Bull Apostolic Curae 1896, after a study canon on theological and sacramental ritual forms used in the Anglican Church, decided to ignore the validity of Holy Orders conferred with the Anglican rite.

Catholicism

The Catholic Church in England is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in full communion with the Pope. Catholic Christianity was established in what is now England in the first century AD and in 597, the first authoritative papal mission, establishing a direct link from the Kingdom of Kent to Rome and to the Benedictine form of monasticism, was carried into effect by Augustine of Canterbury.

England adhered to the Catholic Church for almost a thousand years from the time of Augustine of Canterbury but, in 1534, during the reign of King Henry VIII, the greater part of the church, through a series of legislative acts between 1533 and 1536 aligned itself to Henry's new official ecclesial entity, the Church of England, with Henry declaring himself Supreme Head.

Most Common Rituals

 There exists the Apostolic Exarchate for Ukrainians which serves the 15,000 Ukrainian Greek Catholics in Great Britain, with a cathedral and various churches across the country.

The Lebanese Maronite Order (LMO) runs in England and Wales. The LMO is an order of the Maronite Catholic Church, serving Maronite Catholics in England and Wales. The Revd Augustine Aoun is the parish priest for Maronites. The LMO runs a few churches, for example Our Lady of Sorrows in Paddington and Our Lady of Lebanon in Swiss Cottage.

There are also Catholic chaplains of the Eritrean, Chaldean, Syriac, Syro-Malabar, Syro-Malankara, and Melkite Rites. For information about the Syro-Malabar chaplaincy within the Diocese of Westminster in London, see Syro-Malabar Catholic Church of London.

Islam

  Islam in England is the largest non-Christian religion, with most Muslims being immigrants from South Asia (in particular Pakistan, Bangladesh and India) or descendants of immigrants from that region. Many others are from Muslim-dominated regions such as the Middle East, Afghanistan, Malaysia and Somalia, while fewer come from Equatorial African countries such as Nigeria, Uganda and Sierra Leone.

According to the 2001 census, 1.54 million Muslims live in England and Wales, where they form 3.3% of the population. According to research by The Times, there were 2.4 million Muslims in the United Kingdom in 2009. In 2010, a study by the Pew Research Center argued that there were 2.869 million Muslims in Britain as a whole.

Most Common Ritual: Muslims have two holidays: Eid al-Fitr (Arabic: عيد الفطر, 'feast of charity `) and Eid al-Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى,' Celebration of Sacrifice '), others add on Friday.
Eid al-Fitr: means the end of Ramadan. The night before the first day of this festival is also considered particularly auspicious. In the early morning, the community as a whole different place and held a breakfast prayers marking the end of the month of fasting important for the Muslim world.
Eid al Adha: is represented by Muslims around the world with the offering of an animal sacrifice (usually a cow or a sheep) as an act of gratitude to God for saving the life of the son of Prophet Abraham. With this festival, remind Muslims that Islam means submission, since no one showed better their submission to God that Abraham (Arabic: Ibrahim إبراهيم), who was willing to sacrifice his own son to prove his loyalty to God.

These two festivals celebrating the believers visiting the homes and eating cooked special dishes for the occasion. All sit together. Children traditionally receive gifts, bonuses and sweets delivered by loved ones as a symbol of love. The way of wishing a happy holiday is pronouncing the words: Eid Mubarak!

Buddhism

Theravada influences grew in England during the early twentieth century. A few of the significant events were the foundation of London’s Buddhist Society in 1924 and the Theravada London Buddhist Vihara in Chiswick in 1926. Anagarika Dharmapala (1864-1933), the founder of Mahā Bodhi Society (f. 1891), was instrumental in presenting Buddhism as a living monastic tradition to the UK. Return of Ananda Metteyya to England on 23 April 1908 after travels in Ceylon and monk ordination in Burma was another significant milestone in the legacy of British Buddhism. A slow trickle from England travelled to Asia to take monastic ordination, mainly as Theravadin monks. Kapilavaddho Bhikkhu introduced the Dhammakaya tradition to the UK in 1954 in this way and founded the English Sangha Trust in 1955. A few Asian monks came to live in England.

Most Common Rituals: Buddhism incorporates a variety of rituals and practices that are designed to assist in the path to enlightenment and bring blessings to yourself and others. The practice of meditation is fundamental to almost all forms of Buddhism, and is derived directly from the experiences and teachings of Buddha. Meditation is the central focus of Zen Buddhism and the only way to release in Theravada Buddhism.

Some common rituals:

·         Meditation - Mental concentration and attention.

·         Mantras - Sacred Sounds.

·         Mudras - Hand symbolic gestures.

·         Prayer Wheels - Reciting mantras with the turn of a wheel.