History of Religion in Britain

History of Religion in Britain

Pre-Roman forms of religion in Britain included various forms of ancestor worship and paganism. Little is known about the details of such religions. In Roman Britain, Christianity was introduced to what are now England, Wales, and Southern Scotland. Forms of Christianity have dominated religious life in Britain for over 1,400 years.

The first evidence of Christianity in England was from the late 2nd century AD. This came at first by indirect means, probably brought by traders and soldiers. At that time England and Wales were ruled by the Romans. The native people, Celts, were polytheists (they worshiped many gods). During the 4th century Christianity became widespread in England.

In 407 the last Roman soldiers left Britain. Over the following decades Roman civilization broke down. In the 5th and 6th centuries Saxons, Angles and Jutes from Germany and Denmark invaded southern and eastern England and gradually conquered most of England. They introduced their own Teutonic religion. In the course of the 7th century, Christianity was again brought to Great Britain by Roman Catholic and Iro-Scottish missionaries.

In the Middle Ages, religion was a vital part of everyday life. Most people lived their lives genuinely believing in the reality of a spiritual realm all around them and in heaven or hell when they died. Everyone attended mass on Sunday. Mass was in Latin, a language that ordinary people did not understand. The Catholic Church provided for the religious aspects of people’s liv es –baptism of babies, marriages, confession, the last rites for the dying and burying the dead, and dominated the thinking of people. Monasteries and nunneries looked after the old and sick, provided somewhere for travelers to stay, gave alms to the poor and sometimes looked after people's money for them. Monks could often read and write when many other people could not, so they copied books and documents and taught children. Monasteries often had libraries. Church festivals and saints' days were 'holy days', when people didn't have to work. The Church played a big part in government: Bishops sat in the House of Lords. They could raise an army for the king in times of war.

As the Early Modern era started, the way people looked at life and the world around them began to change. Some began to question traditional beliefs. For example, many Catholic churches suggested that people could pay indulgences in order to buy their way into heaven. Some felt that this was just a way for the church to make money. This led to conflicts about religion and many people died because of their views. In 1517, a German monk called Martin Luther protested about the Catholic Church and “the Reformation” began in Western Europe, which attempted to reform the Catholic Church and develop Protestant Churches. Protestants believed in worshipping God more simply, without the need for beautifully decorated churches and lots of money. They felt that there should be no distractions and it should just be God and his people. Catholics, on the other hand, always believed in making a church look divine in order that people could feel closer to God there. They also had different ideas on liturgy, prayer and communion. At that time, Protestant ideas were spreading in England despite persecution by the state.

In the 16th century, Britain broke free from the Roman Catholic Church. There was a period of religious conflict. In 1534 King Henry VIII founded the Church of England (Anglican Church) and split it away from the Pope when the Vatican refused to grant him permission to divorce his first wife. He became the leader of the church. In 1539, Henry authorized a new English translation of the Bible and from 1545 English replaced Latin as the language of church services. During the reign of Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII, Catholicism was restored and many