RELIGION IN THE UK SOCIAL STUDIES I Teacher Claudia Mestre T.

T Students: Cinelli Gabriela, Cucui Laura

SCOTLAND Church & Status Patron Saint Presbyterian Church of Scotland, national church (The Kirk) Saint Andrew Ordinary member of the church. Takes an oath to "maintain and preserve the Protestant Religion and Presbyterian Church Government". Holds the power to appoint the Lord High Commissioner to the Church's General Assembly. Plays no part in its governance, and enjoys no powers over it.

ENGLAND Church of England, officially established in England and Mother Church of the Anglican Communion. Saint George Supreme Governor of the Established Church. Defender of the Faith Appoints archbishops, bishops and deans on cathedrals on the advice of the Prime Minister. Formally opens each new session of the General Synod. Takes an oath to maintain the Church. The Church of England is episcopally led (there are 108 bishops) and synodically governed. Its organized into two provinces; each led by an archbishop (Canterbury for the Southern Province and York for the Northern). Each province is built from dioceses (43 in total), and each diocese is divided into parishes. Has a legislative body: the General Synod. It is elected from the laity and clergy of each diocese and meets in London or York at least twice annually to consider legislation for the good of the Church. Three houses: of Bishops, of Clergy and of Laity. Parish Priests: oversee each parish Bishops: lead dioceses. Cathedrals are the seat of the bishop. Archbishops: head or Primates of the two provinces. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the spiritual leader of the Church and of the worldwide Anglican Communion The two archbishops and 24 senior bishops sit in the House of Lords (Lords Spiritual), making a major contribution to Parliament's work.

WALES Church in Wales, independent Anglican Church, disestablished from the state in 1920. Saint David

N. IRELAND Roman Catholic Church of Ireland Saint Patrick

Role of the British monarch

The Sovereign plays no formal role in the disestablished Church in Wales.

The Sovereign plays no formal role in the Church of Ireland.

Governing System

Presbyterian (no one person or group within the Church has more influence or say than any other). Courts: Local Level (the Parish): Kirk Session. Consist of elders presided over by a minister. District Level: Presbytery. Consists of all the ministers in the district and an equal number of elders, along with members of the diaconate. National Level: Highest Court of the Kirk, the General Assembly. Consists of around 400 ministers, 400 elders, and members of the diaconate, all representing the presbyteries.

Key Roles and Positions

The Moderator: -Church representative -chairs the General Assembly -leads daily worship -keeps order -rules on points of order -signs documents on behalf of the Assembly The Lord High Commissioner: - is appointed by the Queen as her representative at the General Assembly

The polity of the Church in Wales is Episcopalian Church governance, which is the same as other Anglican churches. The Governing Body is the supreme legislature of the Church in Wales. It consists of three orders: Bench of Bishops (that is, the six diocesan bishops), the Clergy and the Laity The Church in Wales is divided into six distinct geographical areas, or dioceses. Each diocese is looked after by a Bishop and is a distinct administrative unit. Representative Body: Responsible for the care of the Church's property and for funding many of the activities of the Church, including support for priests' stipends and pensions. Clergy: clerics are ordained in the Anglican Church and serve in the Church looking after a parish. Bishop: chief pastor in his diocese, has a key role to play in the government of the Church Archbishop: chief pastor for the Church in Wales. First-amongstequals in relation to his fellow bishops. Church in Wales does not ordain women to the episcopacy

The polity of the Church of Ireland is Episcopalian church governance organized on an all-Ireland basis which includes both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland Organized into four ecclesiastical provinces. Canon law and church policy are decided by the Church's General Synod

under the spiritual leadership of the Pope trailed by: - 4 archbishops - 23 bishops - More than 27 dioceses There are 1087 parishes

Main Beliefs and Tenets

The head of faith is the Lord God. The basis of faith is the Bible Theres no set prayer-book Worship is the responsibility of the minister in each parish. Recognized sacraments: Baptism and Holy Communion.

The Bible contains the core of all Christian faith and thought. Loyalty to a way of worship and life set out in the Book of Common Prayer Celebration of the Baptism and the Holy Communion.

The two great and necessary sacraments are Holy Baptism and Holy Eucharist Other sacramental rites are confirmation, holy orders and matrimony Social issues: In some areas, the Church stands on various issues including economic justice, ordination of women, and inclusion of homosexual people

Holy relics are thought to possess curative powers The "two great and necessary" sacraments are Baptism and the Eucharist

Other religious beliefs

The Catholic Church in Scotland is Scotland's second largest Christian denomination The Scottish Episcopal Church is Scotland's third largest Christian denomination

the Roman Catholic Church is the second largest Christian church across England and Wales Pentecostal churches are continuing to grow

The Roman Catholic Church in Ireland is the largest single church though there is a greater number of Protestants and Anglicans overall. The Presbyterian Church in Ireland is the second largest church and largest Protestant denomination.

According to the 2001 UK census, Christianity is the major religion, followed by Islam, Hinduism, Jediism, Sikhism, Judaism and Buddhism in terms of number of adherents. in practice all have relatively low levels of religious observance and today are secular societies.

CONSULTED WEBSITES Religion in the UK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_Kingdom Church in Wales http://www.churchinwales.org.uk/index_e.php The Church of England http://www.churchofengland.org/ The Church of Scotland http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/