Exercise 1. Fill in the gaps with the names of religions from the box

Judaism Sikhism Catholicism Russian Orthodox Church Protestantism Christianity Hinduism Anglican Church Islam

For the largest part of its history the traditional religion in England, and later the United Kingdom has been _________, first ________ and later a branch of _________. Nowadays the church is separated from the state in all the constituent countries except England, where _______ is the established church. Besides, there exist a wide variety of other Christian churches and denominations, including __________. _________ has been practiced in the country since the Middle Ages, apart from a four hundred year period when the Jews were expelled from Britain. The influx of immigrant from former Asian colonies brought a wide range of other religions, such as _______, _________ and _______.

Exercise 2. Answer the following questions about the Church of England.

1. What is the status of the Church of England in the country?
2. When was it created?
3. In what way does the Church of England follow the Catholic traditions?
4. In what way does the Church of England follow the Protestant traditions?
5. Who is the spiritual head of the church?
6. What title does the Queen bear in connection to the Church of England?
7. What are the legislative and the judicial bodies in the structure of the church?
8. What is the hierarchy of the Church of England?
9. Who appoints the parish priests of the church?
10. How is the Church of England involved in the political life of the country?
11. What are the main sources of income for the Church of England?
12. What are the sister churches of the Church of England in other parts of the UK?

Exercise 3. Indicate whether the following statements are true or false.

1. The Church of England acts as senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
2. The most senior cleric of the church is the Archbishop of York.
3. The title Supreme Governor of the Church of England was created for Elizabeth II.
4. The title Defender of the Faith has been part of the British monarch’s title since Henry VIII was granted it for his role in opposing the Protestant Reformation.
5. Measures of Synod can be amended by the UK Parliament.
6. Measures of Synod are a part of the law of England.
7. A parish priest in the Church of England can be appointed by a private individual.
8. In Scotland, the Church of Scotland is the established church.
9. The Kirk is an informal name for the Church of Ireland.
10. The British monarch when in Scotland is the Supreme Governor of the Church of Scotland.
11. The Kirk has no bishops, but is rather governed by elders and ministers.
12. The Church in Wales is a part of the Church of England.

Exercise 4. Study the chart depicting some of the Christian denominations and fill in the following:

Eastern Orthodox, Church of England, Church of Scotland, Quakers, Baptists, Russian Orthodox

Further Reading

1. Focus on Britain. – London: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1993. – 40 p.

2. Sheering S. Spotlight on Britain [2-d edition] / S Sheering, J. Seath, G. White. – Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990. – 140 p.

* A research in 2006 found that two thirds (66% – 32,2 million people) in the UK have no connection with any religion or church. In 2003 August, 18% of the British public said they were a practicing member of an organized religion, 25% they were members of a world religion. According to these results, one fifth of self-declared members would also not describe themselves as practicing that religion.

** “Many people are brought up, as part of their family, to say that they are Christian despite only having a precursory knowledge of Christ and only a vague belief in God.