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What Religions are there in the UK?

The official religion of England is Christianity, as practised by the Church of England (Anglican). The

Church in Wales is also Anglican. In Scotland the official Church is the Presbyterian Church of

Scotland. Other Christians include the Roman Catholics and the Methodists.

Britain is a multi faith society in which everyone has the right to religious freedom. Although Britian is

historically a Christian society, people are usually very tolerant towards the faiths of others and thosewho have no religious beliefs.

Religion in Britain today

The main religion in Britain is Christianity. Most Christians belong to the Church of England or the

Church of Scotland. These are Protestant Churches. There are also many Roman Catholics.

The Queen is head of the Church of England.

Although religious faith in Britain is predominantly Christian, most of the worlds religions are alsopracticed. There are large Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh communities, and also smaller

communities of Bah, Buddhists, Jains, and Zoroastrians, as well as followers of new religious

movements.

In 2001 the Census collected information about religious identity of people living in Britain

The UK population: by religion, April 2001

Source: Census, Office for National Statistics

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What is the main Religion in Britain?

Britain is traditionally a Christian state and most people living in Britain are Christian.

Britain has one of the most religiously diverse populations in the European Union. British people are

free to choose and follow their own religious beliefs. Although Christianity is the main religion, there

are also large communities of Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus and Jews, and smaller communities of Baha'is,

Buddhists, Jains and Zoroastrians.

The most recent (2007) survey by Tearfund discovered that 53% of the population identified

themselves as Christian, compared with almost three-quarters who had in the last census in 2001.

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The Census

Since 1801, every 10 years the nation has set aside one day for the Census - a count of all people and

households. It is the most complete source of information about the population that we have. The latest

Census was held on Sunday 29 April 2001.

The following results are from the religions section in the 2001 census:

Christian (Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist) 71.6%, Muslim 2.7%, Hindu 1%, other 1.6%, unspecified or none 23.1%

History of Religion in England

Britain used to be a Roman Catholic country.

In 1533, during the reign of Henry VIII, England broke from the Roman Catholic Church to form theAnglican Church.

Why did England become a Protestant country?

Henry VIII, the king, wanted a divorce. He wanted a son and his wife only gave birth to daughters. He

asked the Pope for permission to divorce, but was refused. Henry VIII became very angry and decided

to make his own church.

Henry VIII became leader of the Church of England (Anglican Church). He had the Bible translated to

English and the people who believed in this new religion were called Protestants .

Back to being a Catholic Country

In 1553, Mary became Queen. She changed the country back to Catholicism and burned Protestants

who wouldn't change at the stake (similar to a bonfire).

All change again

In 1558, Elizabeth became Queen. She changed the church back to Anglican and it has been the

official religion of England since.

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Superstitions in BritainGood Luck

1. Lucky to meet a black cat. Black Cats are featured on many good luckgreetings cards and birthday cards in England.

2. Lucky to touch wood.3. A horseshoe over the door brings good luck. But the horse shoe needs to be

the right way up. The luck runs out of the horse shoe if it is upside down.

4. On the first day of the month it is lucky to say "white rabbits, white rabbitswhite rabbits," before uttering your first word of the day.

5. Catch falling leaves in Autumn and you're have good luck. Every leaf means a luckymonth next year.

Bad Luck

1. Unlucky to walk underneath a ladder2. Seven years bad luck to break a mirror.3.

Unlucky to see one magpie, lucky to see two, etc..4. Unlucky to spill salt. If you do, you must throw it over your shoulder tocounteract the bad luck.

5. Unlucky to open an umbrella in doors.6. The number thirteen is unlucky. Friday the thirteenth is a very unlucky

day. Friday is considered to be an unlucky day because Jesus was crucified on a Friday.

7. Unlucky to put new shoes on the table.8. Unlucky to pass someone on the stairs.

Food Superstitions

When finished eating a boiled egg, push the spoon through the bottom of the emptyshell to let the devil out

In Yorkshire, housewives used to believe that bread would not rise if there was a

corpse (dead body) in the vicinity, and to cut off both ends of the loaf would make the

Devil fly over the house!

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