Religion in the U.K.....?

Question

I ascertain, from the answers I received in my previous question, that people in the U.K. aren't that religious as opposed to here in the U.S.

Why do you suppose that is?

What is YOUR personal belief or worldview?

Thanks! ^.^

P.S. add me to your friends, if you'd like. I love the U.K.!!!

Answer 1

more hypocrites in U.S?...all things will end!...

Answer 2

The UK has a long history of token church attendance; the church was the centre of village social life, but the curate or pastor was often more interested in social advancement and position than in spirituality. Perhaps because since Queen Anne's time there hasn't been much in the way of "oppression" they didn't learn to value their faith at its true worth.

Certainly in the 18th-19th century the use of the word "living" to describe a curacy was revealing, and unfortunately, to a great many younger sons of influential families, that's just exactly what the clergy was--a living. You know the old saying, the eldest son inherits, the second goes into the army, the third into the church.

I am a devout Christian, and while I attend an Anglican church here in Spain, I don't consider myself to be a member of one denomination or another. The congregation I attend is very biblical, and gives sound teaching. That's what's important.

Of course, Protestants came in for a lot of hassles during the Franco regime so that many learned the value of their beliefs.

Answer 3

It's said that the parts of the US which are most religious are the inner states. The coastal ones are much more liberal and relaxed about religion. This is said to be because the coastal states are more exposed to people from other countries as most tourists arrive in places like New York, Boston, Los Angeles etc. So people in the coastal areas learn to be more accepting of other peoples and their faiths, and it's only the inner states which are the religious extremists.

The UK being only a small island in comparison to the US, the same argument holds. We don't have a large central landmass where the religious right can fester.

Answer 4

I'm not British, but I think it's not so much that the Brits are UNreligious...it's just that the people in the U.S. are so religious in comparison. When we've got so many people contesting to ban Harry Potter and to make prayer necessary in public schools when Europe is mostly secular...well, that speaks for itself, doesn't it? As for the reason, I'm not entirely sure. I'd be willing to guess it's the proximity the U.K. has to Europe, where there's different religions followed in every country. From what I've heard, London is a melting pot of hundreds of different beliefs.

...Um, pardon my incoherency if there was any. I'm a little tired right now. :)

Answer 5

Hi, I'm a UK Christian, and I have no idea why you guys are more 'religious'. Christianity at it's heart is not religion, it's a relationship - with Jesus.
I can make a wild guess that it's because the church (the organised, anglican ones) are rather dull. I personally go to one of the growing number of free churches, which is more lively, more relevant and more loving. There is a great deal of change happening here in Christian circles though, more people are becoming aware of the spiritual gifts and more people are becoming Christians. It's an exciting time, but the media does not report it.

Answer 6

I think it all begins with our revolution in the 1640's, England was a deeply religious country at that time and Protestantism was very much bound up with the national character. The one thing that tipped the scales in deciding to execute King Charles was his plan to bring an Irish Catholic army over to England, which was seen as the ultimate treason for religious as well as national reasons.
During the Commonwealth set up by Cromwell, there was a number of experiments in government, one of which Puritanical rules of behaviour were made law. This proved too much for the average Englishman who found these laws oppressive and gladly welcomed back the monarchy. With the King back the Puritans felt uncomfortable and left for America setting the religious tone for New England.
What the revolution did for English culture was set a mood of moderation in religion, where extremism would be frowned on, especially after the wars and bloodshed leading up to it.

Another aspect was to do with the Church of England, in the countryside the church claimed a tithe of all farmers, in the world wide depression of the late 1920's, they sent the police in to get their money when farmers were struggling to make ends meet. The village church was the centre of any rural community, but after that point the loyalty of the farming community was broken and inevitably attendances dropped.
In the cities, low churches such as the Methodists and the Baptists made bigger inroads, but cities by their very nature were largely transient in population so religious communities were harder to keep going.
Also ideas from Europe made a bigger impact in the UK, socialism wasn't seen as the evil that Americans seem to view it and Das Kapital was written in London by Marx. Of course, we have our own home grown thinkers such as Darwin who pretty much punched a hole in the literal interpretation of the Bible and William Smith and Lord Kelvin, whose work pointed to the idea that the world's age was measured in millions not thousands of years old.

I'm guessing here, but when I lived abroad in the middle east, different national communities would cement their identities so the English would become more English than the English back home, same with the Germans, Americans, etc.
I imagine in the immigrant populations heading to America would do the same, the Irish becoming more Irish than the Irish, the same with the Italians and Germans etc. One of the identities they would carry would be their religious one, which would become stronger than if they stayed in Europe.

Answer 7

Saying that people in the UK are less religious than those in the US isn't all that true. In the UK there are 2 million Muslims and most of then take their religion very seriously, so do the thousands of Hindus and Sikhs but maybe the Christians have laid back a bit.

Answer 8

the US is/was melting pot of cultures. people had to become american by sharing a common set of ideals. patriotism and religion were ways to do this; they shared beliefs in a supreme being and demonstrable patriotism. this happened early on in the creation of america and has, to some degree stuck. there is, to a certain extent, a need to conform to become an american. the UK is an old established state, people have never needed to conform to be british and the freedom to believe what you want has never be really subject to social pressure. religious believe lost a lot of ground during the industrial revolution and enlightenment. a lot of the countries leaders became more skeptical about religion in the 18th and 19th century and it was often seen just as a mens of social control, (just as the roman emporers augustus and constantine did). the established religion, the anglican church, was a rurally based religion run by the younger sons of the aristocracy and wealthy and the growth of industrial cities left a large part of the population touched by the church and there was a growth of religious apathy. to some extent this was filled by the non-conformist groups such as the methodists in the late 18th and 19th century, but they never really reached all of the population. by the mid to late 19th century the anglican church tried to regain ground but again it had only a superficial success. this left a large part of the population, who still claim to be anglican, as vague deists who see god as a distant and indifferent figure who has no real affect on their lives. this means that belief or non believe are not subject to the same pressure to conform as in the US, because religion is not part of the UK national identity, where in the US it is. i noticed that one person who answered said that the British were not very patriotic, when if fact they are but they demonstrate it differently. many british people would regard it as unpatriotc to have to pledge allegiance as it forces them to conform where the basis of british identity is individual expression and a pledge would infringe on this.

Answer 9

we're no longer taught or brought up to religion anymore in the UK. it's more of a case parents give their children the choice but, don't teach them. nor are we taught at schools, when I was at school we had religious education (12Years ago) but we didn't learn about anyone in particular, nor did they assume that we were religious.

Nowadays in the UK it is not politically correct to show your religion as it may cause offence to others! (unless your religion falls into the minority then it's ok, Which is all religions except Christianity, the homelands' religion)

We are also a multi cultural society now, we have just about lost our view to the world as a Christian society, purely and simply because of political correctness, and by the way our government wishes us to embrace a diverse culture.

we also have to work Sundays now, unlike in America where most people get Sundays off

Answer 10

Over time, religion in Europe has faded, probably in the past 20 years the most... I don't know exactly why though.

The US had an evangelical Christian revival in the 80s, and now evangelicals are 1/3 of all American Christians.

Answer 11

I don't think we are that religious here compared to the US. We have so many different religions here these days, (not that that's a bad thing). There seem to be less and less strict Christians.

I am an atheist but appreciate that lots of people have lots of different religions.

PS How do I add you to my friends?