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==Summary== | ==Summary== | ||
From the early Middle Ages onwards England has been predominantly Christian. Until the Reformation England was Catholic, but in 1534 the Church in England (the Anglican Church) was made independent and eventually adopted a moderate Protestant theology. The Church of England was the state church with the Monarch as it's Supreme Governor and thus became the majority religion. Catholics were severely persecuted. Other religions, collectively referred to as "Non-conformists" were also not tolerated. Not until 1829 did official persecution against Christian groups end. | From the early Middle Ages onwards England has been predominantly Christian. Until the Reformation England was Catholic, but in 1534 the Church in England (the Anglican Church) was made independent and eventually adopted a moderate Protestant theology. The Church of England was the state church with the Monarch as it's Supreme Governor and thus became the majority religion. Catholics were severely persecuted. Other religions, collectively referred to as "Non-conformists" were also not tolerated. Not until 1829 did official persecution against Christian groups end. | ||
The 1851 census of religion gives a useful overview of the religious scene at that time. It reported the following number of worshippers for each religion in England and Wales- population 17.9 million. Note the inclusion of Wales, where Methodism was very popular, in the data. | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|+ | |||
!Religion | |||
!Worshippers<ref>https://archive.org/details/censusofgreatbri00grea/page/110/mode/2up Supplement II to Table A, page 110</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|Church of England | |||
|5,292,551 | |||
|- | |||
|Wesleyan Methodists (total) | |||
|2,417,353 | |||
|- | |||
|Independents | |||
|1,214,059 | |||
|- | |||
|Baptists (total) | |||
|930,190 | |||
|- | |||
|Roman Catholics | |||
|383,630 | |||
|- | |||
|Calvinist Methodists (total) | |||
|308,754 | |||
|- | |||
|Presbyterians (total) | |||
|80,510 | |||
|- | |||
|Latter Day Saints | |||
|35,626 | |||
|- | |||
|Society of Friends | |||
|22,478 | |||
|- | |||
|Jews | |||
|6,030 | |||
|- | |||
|''Other Christians'' | |||
|204,885 | |||
|} | |||
==Anglicans== | ==Anglicans== | ||
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'''1972:''' About three quarters of English Congregational churches merged with the ''Presbyterian Church of England'' to form the ''United Reformed Church'' (URC). However, about 600 Congregational churches have continued in their historic independent tradition. | '''1972:''' About three quarters of English Congregational churches merged with the ''Presbyterian Church of England'' to form the ''United Reformed Church'' (URC). However, about 600 Congregational churches have continued in their historic independent tradition. | ||
=== Presbyterians, Baptists and Independents === | |||
These religions evolved from 16th century Puritanism. The records of these religions are similar to those of the Church of England. The Baptists, however, practiced adult baptism and recorded births in birth registers, not baptism registers. The Independent Church is also known as the Congregational Church. | |||
=== Methodists === | |||
The Methodist denominations are a break-away movement from Anglicanism, founded by John Wesley (hence the name "Wesleyan") in 1735. | |||
=== Latter Day Saints === | |||
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a restorative Christian religion founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. His claims include a personal visitation by both God The Father and His Son, Jesus Christ in the spring of 1820, and subsequent angelic visitations with instructions which led directly to the discovery of a set or book of (metal) plates which contains ancient "Reformed Egyptian" handwriting. As instructed, he translated these ancient scriptural writings into a book, called the Book of Mormon. The Church was organized in and commences from 6 April 1830 at Palmyra, in upper New York State, United States. | |||
The Prophet Joseph Smith, and the early converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the United States faced severe opposition and subsequent persecution. In the midst of this oppressive early period, Smith sent missionaries to various parts of the world including Britain. It was within the same month as the commencement of England's Civil Registration of births, marriages and deaths, that the first missionaries landed on England's soil. They first appeared in the Preston, ("Priest-town' as it was anciently called), Lancashire region and met considerable success, these missionaries journeyed throughout the realm from there. Thousands flocked to its ranks. About 14 years later, by the time the 1851 Religious Census was taken, there were just over 50,000 "sittings" in approximately 250 different congregations spread throughout the countries of England and Wales. Many of these awaited emigration to "Zion", which was located high in the Rocky Mountain's Great Basin (Utah Territory), in the Western United States. By the time of the 1860 U.S. Federal census, nearly 1 person in 4 that walked the valleys of Utah, spoke in the England/Welsh/Scottish baroque, due to the many converts who had arrived from Great Britain. The Church's doctrinal views resonated well with many among England's mostly working class. | |||
By the liberal use of "resources", the Church has been and currently is a major player and contributor to the world's genealogical community, by sharing its vast genealogical treasures. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints sponsors the FamilySearch website. | |||
=== Huguenots === | |||
====Walloons==== | |||
The first wave of many thousands of French-speaking Protestants were Walloon refugees who arrived in England from the Spanish Netherlands (now Belgium and the Netherlands) in 1567, having been forced to flee the suppression of Protestantism by King Philip of Spain’s forces lead by the Duke of Alva. This group had been in England for over a century before the true Huguenots came and the two groups settled in London and the same south-eastern towns. | |||
====Huguenots==== | |||
The Huguenots, (Protestants from France), first came in 1572 after the Massacre of St. Bartholomew in Paris, and they were largely from the northern provinces of Brittany, Normandy and Picardy and mostly settled in south-eastern areas of England where the French-speaking Walloon communities had already been established. Although there was support for their religious freedom during the reigns of Elizabeth and James I, during that of Charles I and particularly during Archbishop Laud’s tenure prior to the Civil War only those born abroad and now living in Canterbury were officially allowed to practise their religion, whilst their children were to attend Anglican services. In response, some moved to to Netherlands, and the majority to the USA, taking their craft skills with them. Far more Huguenots arrived after 1685 when Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes which had given toleration to French Protestants in 1598. About 60,000 came at this time, with two-thirds of these settling in London. Most of the others went to towns in SE England and some to Bristol, Plymouth and nearby Stonehouse in the south west. | |||
The history of the Huguenots throughout the English-speaking world can be found in Currer-Briggs and Gambier (''Huguenot Ancestry''. Phillimore, 1985). The Huguenots were not of any particular social level. They comprised mainly craftsmen with some nobility and some peasants. In London the upper class families and those who worked in the luxury trades such as goldsmiths, silversmiths, lapidaries, diamond cutters, jewellers, bucklemakers, clock- and watch-makers settled in London’s west end around Soho and nearby Westminster parishes. The poorer weavers, and associated tradesmen such as silk throwsters, dyers, thread- and lace makers settled in the east end in Spitalfields and Bethnal Green. | |||
The communities were close-knit and some maintained the French language into the 19th century. Sociological studies show that it takes three generations for immigrants to totally assimilate, and most families had joined the Anglican Church or other Nonconformist groups by at least 1800. | |||
It must also be born in mind that there was a further wave of French refugees, known as the ''emigrés'', mainly upper class and Catholic, entering England from 1789-1814 at and after the French Revolution (circa 1789-1795). Lists of the groups of these that came, but with no union index of names, are on {{FHL|257024|item|disp=FHL fiche 6035980(1)}}. The Hampshire Record Office have recently acquired a series of their letters giving graphic details of their escape and struggles. | |||
====Flemish==== | |||
The Protestant immigrants from Flanders and Brabant spoke Flemish, a Dutch dialect, and can thus easily be confused with Dutch settlers. Edward III (1327-1377) encouraged the Flemish to settle in England, as he valued their silk and other textile skills. Other waves came in 1551 and 1567 fleeing the occupying Catholic Spaniards, as did the Walloons. | |||
They settled primarily in south eastern England, particularly in London, Norwich and Canterbury and were employed especially in silk weaving, the New Draperies and market gardening. In the 17th century more Flemish immigrants arrived with the Dutch to drain the fens of East Anglia (Beharrell).<ref>Christensen, Penelope. "England History of Huguenots, Walloons, Flemish Religions (National Institute)," ''The National Institute for Genealogical Studies'' (2012), https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/England_History_of_Huguenots,_Walloons,_Flemish_Religions_%28National_Institute%29.</ref> | |||
=== Society of Friends (Quakers) === | |||
The ''Religious Society of Friends'' (colloquially ''Friends'' or ''Quakers'') is a puritanical group founded by George Fox in 1647 and had its chief strength in north west England. The group did not believe in formal services, buildings or paid ministers and thus did not pay tithes to support them, hence their particular antipathy towards the imposition of tithes on every inhabitant for the benefit of the Anglican Church. Quakers believed that all were equal, that God’s word was given to each one individually, and opposed violence including armed service. The Bible was viewed as interesting but certainly not binding. These views frequently brought them in conflict with the law and they were much persecuted until William III’s Act of Toleration in 1689. Starting in 1682, William Penn lead 23,000 Quakers to North America where they established the colony of Pennsylvania. This severely depleted Quaker strength in England and numbers were down to 40,000 by 1700 and declined drastically by the mid-18th century, aided by their forbidding of marriage to outsiders and to first cousins. Some joined other Protestant groups, and others, who perhaps had gained more prominence in society, felt that the Anglican church was a better choice. They have remained a small and separate group ever since, but have been extremely influential in social reform. Nowadays there are about 18,000 Quakers in Britain. | |||
==Timeline== | ==Timeline== | ||