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Church of England (Anglican Church):r />
- History: Founded in 1534 by Henry VIII; "Act of Supremacy"
- 27 million members
- 2 branches: - Anglo-Catholics (High Church)
- Evangelicals (Low Church)
- 2 provinces: Canterbury and York
- Structure of administration: 2 heads , the secular (the sovereign) and the religious one (Archbishop of Canterbury); furthermore the General Synod as the central governing body
- Relationship of Church and State: Based on mutual obligation and control
Church of Scotland ("Kirk"):
- History: Presbyterian church; founded in 1559 by John Knox in the Protestant Reformation and established as the national Church of Scotland in 1707 in the "Treaty of Union"
- 1 million members
- Structure of administration: No episcopal, but democratic government by elders; each year election of the Moderator
- Northern Ireland Conflict
Free Churches (Dissenters/Nonconformists):
- History: - Protestant churches; deriving from the Puritans which came up in the 16th century
- 16th and 17th century: Persecution of Puritans; emigration to America (Mayflower)
- 1648: Winners of the Civil War (1642-1648) under Oliver Cromwell
- 1649-1660: Abolition of monarchy
- 1661/1673: Anti-Puritan legislation
- 1828: Equal rights for Puritans
- 7 million members
- Bible as sole authority
- Structure of administration: No church hierarchy, but democratic church organization with equal status of ministers and laymen, of men and women
- Achievement of Puritanism in Britain: Social legislation in the 19th century (e.g. end of child labour)
Roman Catholics:
- History: - 664: England submitted to papal domination
- 16th and 17th century: Persecution of Roman-Catholics
- 1829-1850: Reintroduction of Roman-Catholics (Oxford Movement)
- 6 million members
- Structure of administration: British head: Archbishop of Westminster
Non-Christian Religious Communities:
- Resulting from a great immigration from Asian and African countries since the 1950s
- 1,5 million Muslims
- 400,000 Jews
- About 150,000 Sikhs and Hindus each
Current Religious Issues:
- Decline in membership
- Ordination of women
- Relationship between Church and State
Vocabulary:
attendance: Anwesenheit
austere: einfach, wenig anspruchsvoll
child labour: Kinderarbeit
clergy: Klerus
confession of faith: Glaubensbekenntnis
creed: Glaube, Überzeugung
diocese: Diözese
dissent: abweichend, andersgläubig
domination: (Vor-)Herrschaft
elders: Ältere, hier: Vorsitzende
episcopal: bischöflich
layman: Kirchenangehöriger, der nicht zum Klerus gehört
mutual: gegenseitig
papal: päpstlich
parish: Gemeinde
secular: weltlich
sovereign: Oberhaupt
struggle: Kampf, Auseinandersetzung
supremacy: Überlegenheit
synod: Zusammenkunft, Versammlung
worship: Gebet
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