christianity in Britain_英国基督教

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Christianity in Britain

Abstract：Since Christianity was first brought to Britain with the Roman invasion and was quite well-established until AD 306, the history of religion in Britain has been a history of Christianity’s spreading and developing in Britain.As a dominant religion, Christianity takes up 71% believers in Britain, which decides its role and position in British religion, history, politics, people’s daily lives as well as their faiths.However, Christianity is not a single religion in detail.It exists in Britain as various types of other religions with different names, but they are all Christianity in eence.Christianity in its various types contributes a lot to every aspects of Britain.This thesis analyses the various types of christianity in Britain and its influences on Britain in both positive and negative ways.Key words: Christianity;influence;Britain

I.Introduction: With an approximately 1.7 billion people world wide, Christianity is arguably the largest religion in the world today.Started at around 30 AD, Christianity is based on the teachings and life of Jesus Christ.Christianity was founded in the first century in Palestine by the disciples of Jesus.Many miionaries spread it, despite heavy persecution, throughout the

Roman Empire.The first evidence of Christianity in England is from the late 2nd century AD.(There may have been Christians in Britain before then, we cannot be sure).Roman Britain was a cosmopolitan place.Merchants from all over the empire settled there and soldiers from many countries served there so we will never know who first introduced Christianity to England.Above is the origin of Christianity in Britain.Gone through coexistence with and later breaking up from Catholicism, reformations, and other changes, Christianity has developed out a serious of Christian religions.In other words, it is maively varied.Till now, with a history of about 2000 years, Christianity has a great influence on Britain, and the influences are ubiquitous.II.Various forms of Christianity in Britain 1.Established Church 1)Church of Enland The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion.It was separated from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534

with the Act of Supremacy and understands itself to be both Catholic and Reformed 2)Church of Scotland The government of the Church of Scotland is Presbyterian, that is, government by ministers and elders, all of whom are ordained to office.The position of the Church of Scotland was defined in the Treaty of Union, 1707, and further safeguarded by the Church of Scotland Act,1921.2.1)Unestablished Churches The Anglican Churches In the British Isles there are three unestablished Anglican churches: the Church of Ireland, the Episcopal Church in Scotland, and the Church in Wales.2)The Free Churches The Free Churches are some of the Protestant churches in Britain 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 dienters or nonconformisits.The free churches including the Methodist Church, the Baptists, the United Reformed Churches, and other free churches like the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Presbyterian(or Calvinistic Methodist)Church of Wales and the Union of Welsh Independents.There are also groupings of

“Black Majority” Churches.3)The Roman Catholic Church The formal structure of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, which ceased to exist after the Reformation, was restored in 1850.There are now 7 Roman Catholic provinces in Great Britain, each under an archbishop, and 30 dioceses, each under a bishop(22 in England and Wales and 8 in Scotland, independently responsible to the Pope).There are almost 3,300 prishes and about 7,300 priests(only men may become priests).3.Other Christian churches Other Christianity Churches include the Unitarians, Free Christians, the Pentecostalists(the Aemblies of God and the Elim Pentecostal Church), the Religious Society of Friends(Quakers), the Christian Brethren, and the “new churches”, which ginated in the early 1970s.4.Several forms of Christianity in the history 1)Prostantism Protestantism is le a denomination than a general branch of Christianity encompaing numerous denominations and a wide theological spectrum ranging from conservative to liberal.It originated in the 16th century Reformation, and most modern Protestant

denominations can trace their heritage to one of the major movements that sprung up in the 16th century.2)Puritan Puritans was the name given in the 16th century to the more extreme Protestants within the Church of England who thought the English Reformation had not gone far enough in reforming the doctrines and structure of the church;they wanted to purify their national church by eliminating every shred of Catholic influence.In the 17th century many Puritans emigrated to the New World, where they sought to found a holy Commonwealth in New England.Puritanism remained the dominant cultural force in that area into the 19th century.III.Influences of Christianity on Britain 1.In positive ways 1)Festivals The Christian festivals of the year are Christmas, Easter, and Whit Sunday.Christmas Day, December 25th, celebrates the birth of Christ, and is the greatest of Christian festivals.Two important things, apart from its religious significance, help to set this festival(and holiday)apart from all others: the custom of giving gifts and the habit of spending it with the family.Easter is the chief Christian festival, which celebrates the Resurrection of Christ, on the first Sunday after the first full moon that coincides with, or comes after, the spring equinox(taken as 21 March).During Easter season, Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Christ, and Easter Sunday(also called Easter Day)the resurrection.F.aster is traditionally aociated with the eating of Easter eggs.The season is also closely aociated with the coming of spring, and most churches are specially decorated with flowers for the services held on Easter Day.Presents, apart from Easter eggs(made of chocolate)and greeting cards, are rarely exchanged.Whit Sunday is a major festival in the Christian church that falls on the seventh Sunday after Easter.Whit Sunday celebrates the corning of the Holy Spirit to Christ's apostles seven weeks after his death.The day is named after the white robes formerly worn by converts to the church admitted at this time.The festival is still a popular occasion in some churches for the christening(baptism)of babies also dreed in white.2)Literatures Christianity is represented by Bronte in Jane Eyre.Bronte represents Christianity with three major characters: Mr Brocklehurst, Helen, and St John.There are instances in the novel where Jane seeks aistance from God in order to survive her environment but to suggest that Christian is the “core of Jane's moral sense” is to misread how Bronte represents this

religion in the novel.Beside, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is another book that is in Christian background, which is recognized as an excellent work and people understand further about Christianity from this book.3)Individual Spirits Christianity encourages individual spirits, such as individual freedom.One eential aspect of this began with individuals such as Tertullian, Lactantius, St.Augustine, and later Martin Luther who promoted religious freedom.Luther, standing before Emperor Charles V and the Diet of Worms in 1521 declared: “Unle I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason—I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other—my conscience is captive to the word of God.I cannot and will not recent anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe.God help me, Amen.” The First Amendment echoes the desire of prominent Christian forbears in promoting religious liberty and freedom of the individual.The influence of Christianity has spread into the concept of freedom and rights of the individual.Without this freedom there is no real freedom on the economic, political, or religious level.2.In negative ways 1)Persecution

One of the most well-known instances is the Bloody Marry’s percecution on the protestants.Mary Tudor, was still a devout Catholic like her Spanish mother Catherine of Aragon.When she became Queen after Edward she married Philip II of Spain and attempted to forcibly reconvert England to Roman Catholicism.Many people were persecuted for their Protestant religious views.At least 300 Protestants were burnt as heretics.2)Displacement In the time of King James, the Puritan protests were more peaceful than the Catholics, but James had little sympathy with their demands.James declared that he would “make them conform or harry them from the land”.Many Puritans had left England for Holland.In 1620 a small group of these Puritans, numbering 201, called the Pilgrim Fathers, sailed from Plymouth in the Mayflower, and founded New Plymouth in America, Britain's first settlement in the New World.3)Other tragedies triggered by Christianity With the fall of the Roman Empire, the librarian of Alexandria was pulled off her carriage and skinned alive.In the first crusade, Christians killed tens of thousands of people they called “infidels”.The Children's Crusade(1212)caused the deaths of nearly 50,000 children.Preachers sentenced to death and executed thousands during the Inquisition(1233-1834)for heresy and witchcraft.Christians have also been on the political attack

for years now, trying to deny rights to homosexuals, trying to destroy the advances of medical research, trying to outlaw abortions, trying to keep women from obtaining equal rights, and trying to impose their own moralson the rest of society.It limits the religion freedom of some people in special status.Every person in Britain has the right to religious freedom without interference from the community or the State.He may change his religion at will and may manifest his faith in teaching, worship and observance.Churches and religious societies of all kinds may own property, conduct schools, and propagate their beliefs in speech and writing.Except that the Lord Chancellor may not be a Roman Catholic, public offices are open without distinction to members of all churches or of none.IV.Conclusion Every coin has two sides.It’s meaningle for us to consider whether Christianity is good or bad for Britain simply according to its positive and negative influences, since our opinions differ from each other.But we have to agree that it is its strong vitality that makes it survive from the tough history of Britain, and gradually forms a diversity of Christian religion system.Besides, we can also realise Christianity’s contribution to the colorful society and cultures in Britain, and it does enrich the British people’s substantial lives and their spirits, what’s more, provides them

with a firm belief to lead their lives without fear.As an English-learner,I believe such a further study and analysis on British Christianity is good for us to understand better its language background, so that we can know more about English and study it better.References 1.《英语基督教》百度文库

2.《创立于英国的基督教派》维基百科 3.林子文，《基督教在英国的发展及个人感想》 4.余志远，《英语国家概况》

5.Tim Lambert.A Brief History of Christianity in Englan 6.Stephen.An introduction of Westminster Abbey

7.Westerly.Devotions for Growing Christians_ Beware of Pride and Prejudice 8.Jerry Solomon.Christianity and Culture 9.Vexen Crabtree.Types of Christianity in History