Why do people in the UK allign themselves with the Anglican Church

[GKC]

In England the C of E is the established church, so unless your parents, or yourself, decide differently then you will go down as “C of E” on any form where there is a space for ‘Religion’. C of E is the default religion.

Just as a Catholic child is taught that Constantinople split from Rome, while an Orthodox child is taught that Rome split from Constantinople, so what a child is taught in an Anglican school about Church history will differ from what a child is taught in a Catholic school.

Relatively few were killed, certainly not in the “millions” even if you include the Protestants killed by Mary. “Foxe’s Book of Martyrs” does not contain only Catholic martyrs. Most English of the time followed the course of the Vicar of Bray and conformed to whatever the monarch (or the Lord Protector) of the time demanded.

Ever since the Civil War, and with the recent example of Northern Ireland to confirm the lesson, the British establishment has been against ‘enthusiasm’ in religion. Religion is one of the ways to get people to kill other people, and in general the British establishment is against people killing other people. Hence the desire to reduce excessive enthusiasm for religion. If militant muslims approached their religion in the same way as the average C or E vicar then perhaps they wouldn’t kill as many people.

rossum

Yep. Hence the Elizabethan Compromise.

GKC

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

A motley crew…depends on which ones you ask!

I like as much Latin as I can get. OTOH, like any Anglican who uses the US 1928 Book of Common Prayer, I know only a single Rite, though I can get it in a variety of flavors.

Hard to pin them Anglicans down.

GKC

 

[MontChevalier]

I’m English and I’m Catholic.

The biggest threat to our country is the EU.
The biggest threat to Catholicism in our country is atheism.

You, Nelka, are awesome.

I don’t know where you’re from, but know that hundreds of miles, perhaps thousands, there is a guy saying “You rock!”

-MontChevalier

 

[LDNCatholic]

My understanding is that the large increases in Catholic membership in the UK is due mostly to immigration from countries like Poland with large Catholic numbers already?

Nope, surprisingly that’s not true.

The large increases in Church attendance on the other hand…

Answering the OP. It is a cultural thing. Most CoE parishoners are not as deep into history as some of the posters here would have us believe.

They are CoE because their parents were, and their parents etc etc. True you do get the odd Anglican who has put some effort into historical research but by and large the average Anglican is just as ignorant of their history as the average Catholic.

 

[Trader]

With church attendance under 10% in the UK, maybe a better question would be “Why do so few people in the UK align themselves with the Anglican Church?” What is it that they find so lacking that they cannot spare one hour per week?

To be fair, the same question should be asked in many areas that are predominantly Catholic.

 

[ForeverGrace]

newcatholic2010,

I’m a protestant, so clearly I have a different take on what some others have said. I don’t think they are wrong, but we all come to the issue with a different point of view. First, let me say that the Anglican church in in the UK, is not exactly a bastion of godly example. Of course, there are some exceptions, but in general, they are a collection of beautiful ancient buildings who might as well have curators instead of men of God leading them. However, there are still some very dedicated Christian people who are associated with the Anglican church, especially in Africa. In America, they are called Episcopals, and they are in their last death rattle. They seem to have an aversion to scripture and twist it at every opportunity. Can you imagine letting Elton John use the ALTAR at St. John the Divine to have his birthday party where simulated sexual acts were performed? Sad, sad, sad. Then they have people like John Shelby Spong who denies the virgin birth, and even the resurrection. He is not a Christian under any label that I can find. LOL.

Yes, the Anglican church is associated with the political upheaval of the time. It was just simply a little further along after John Hus, Martin Luther and others began to try to reform the Catholic church from within. No matter how you look at it, religion and politics were almost completely intertwined and separating them to try to analyze what happened isn’t possible. Let’s be honest. The Catholic church was burning people at the stake for the crime of disagreeing with them. So I’m not sure either side has anything whatsoever to proud of here. Protestants also engaged in this heinous sin, so I can’t find any clean hands.

The bottom line, is that people are protestants because they have a higher view of scripture than Catholics. That’s not to be an insult, it’s just the way things were and still are. And we hold that there is no case to be made for the Papacy, purgatory, the sinlessness of Mary, the entire idea of indulgences, etc. These concepts are not in the Bible anywhere, in fact, to the contrary. These ideas have separated us for two millenia and it won’t change until we stand before the Risen King. Protestants look to Jesus as their authority for everything, not a person.

Politics and power separated the Christian faith. While I do not hold to Catholic doctrines, I do respect Catholics.

I have done a very long and extensive history of the church. If you have a specific question, I will be happy to answer.

 

[RevDrNorth]

As has been pointed out:

i) Many people belong to a church because their parents did. This is as true of Catholics who are Hispanic as of English people who are C of E, Swedes and so on. In fact, this fact helped keep the Catholic Church in the US from losing numbers as other mainline churches did. I saw one commentator note that the situation with Catholicsm in the US is not as good as it looks since there are millions of Catholic immigrants every year and they still barely held their own in terms of their stats (ie when taking out immigrants they lost members last year). As a side note, this issue is one the Catholic church is aware of and concerned with in that Evangelicals are making inroads with traditional Catholics. There is some hope that the Ordinariates will bring new energy to Catholicism.

ii) Many people in England consider the church to have had history prior to the Roman Catholic Church in England and that the Church of England is simply continuity.

iii) Henry had issues but the marital ones were not the only ones that led to the split. There were issues of local control and so on. Henry was a bad dude but so were scores of Popes (in fact there is a book written on bad Popes)…what of it.

iv) There are social issues. At one time to be Catholic in Britain generally meant to be poor and less well educated. This meant discrimination. I think this is changing (Tony Blair recently converted not to mention the ordinariates).

v) They (Cof E) justly have a right to be proud of the tremendous cultural history (literary and musical) as well as influence that have produced some of the greatest works of the Western world.

The problem with asking C of E people about their faith is the same as an Evangelical Baptist taking on a Catholic…poor catechesis.

 

[LoyalViews]

Thanks for the thumbs’ up mate.

(for good measure)

 

[Anna_Scott]

—And don’t forget, the British monarch is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

Anna

 

[TheExorcist]

Then they have people like John Shelby Spong who denies the virgin birth, and even the resurrection

Holy COW, how did that guy EVER get elected BISHOP?!

 

[ProVobis]

—And don’t forget, the British monarch is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

True and I can’t see better things for the Church of England when Charles becomes king. William OTOH…

Seems as if as how goes the monarchy so goes the Church of England.

 

[ProVobis]

I like as much Latin as I can get.

I as well. I understand there are spotty uses of the old Sarum Rite in the UK. I’d like to hear one of those in person. I don’t know if it’s Catholic or not, though.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

Nothing like passion for a dead language!

I as well. I understand there are spotty uses of the old Sarum Rite in the UK. I’d like to hear one of those in person. I don’t know if it’s Catholic or not, though.

 

[ProVobis]

Nothing like passion for a dead language!

Yes, Old and Middle English are dead. And within a hundred years, just like with “hallowed” no one will know what “thy” and “thee” mean either, even if they still use it in prayer.

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

I’m surprised thee and thy lasted this long!

It drives me crazy how things in English have changed like “invitation” as a noun is now “invite” as a noun with people! And “my mistake” or “my fault” is now “my bad”

Yes, Old and Middle English are dead. And within a hundred years, just like with “hallowed” no one will know what “thy” and “thee” mean either, even if they still use it in prayer.

 

[Anna_Scott]

. . . . . In America, they are called Episcopals, and they are in their last death rattle. They seem to have an aversion to scripture and twist it at every opportunity. Can you imagine letting Elton John use the ALTAR at St. John the Divine to have his birthday party where simulated sexual acts were performed? Sad, sad, sad. Then they have people like John Shelby Spong who denies the virgin birth, and even the resurrection. He is not a Christian under any label that I can find. LOL. . . . .

ForeverGrace,
I take issue with your comments about “Episcopals.” (Actually, we are called Episcopalians.)

It is wrong to lump all Episcopalians into one group as you have. I belong to a very conservative Episcopal Parish. We have no aversion to Scripture. In fact, the first time I visited the Episcopal Church, I was shocked by the amount of Scripture read in every service. We have Bible studies. Our Rector teaches classes, as well as members of the congregation.

We do not agree with same-sex unions or ordinations. We do not deny the Virgin Birth of Christ, or the Resurrection. The Gospel of Christ is truthfully and faithfully proclaimed in our Parish.

We consider ourselves to be Anglican Catholics. We celebrate the Eucharist in every service. We believe in the “Real Presence” of the Eucharist.

We identify with the Catholic roots of Anglicanism, rather than the “Reformed” influences, that later infiltrated the Church of England.

The Anglican Communion contains Christians with a wide variation in beliefs. The question of its future is contained in the question of whether or not Christians with such varying beliefs can remain in Communion with one another. That remains to be seen.

Peace,
Anna