Van hoa anh

ReligionEvery one in the United Kingdom has a legal right tofreedom of thought, conscience and religion.Religious organizations and groups may conduct theirrites and ceremonies; promote their beliefs withinthe limits of the law, own property, and run schoolsand range others activities.

I. Catholic. ( Trần Thị Mỹ Hạnh)

The Catholic Church, also knownas the Roman Catholic Church,is the world's largestChristian church, with morethan one billion membersworldwide. It is among theoldest institutions in theworld and has played a

prominent role in the history of Western civilizationThe Catholic hierarchy is led by the Pope andincludes cardinals, patriarchs and diocesan bishops.The Church teaches that it is the one true Churchfounded by Jesus Christ, that its bishops are thesuccessors of Christ's apostles and that the Pope isthe sole successor to Saint PeterCatholic churches in the UK are run by the Pope.Diocesan bishop is appointed by the Pope and governsaccording to Canon Law and through reference to aCouncil of Priests, a College of Consulters, aFinance Committee and a Pastoral Council.The Roman Catholic Church has separate nationalorganizations for England and Wales, for Scotland andfor Ireland, which means there is no single hierarchyfor Roman Catholicism in the United Kingdom. TheRoman Catholic Church in England and Wales is thesecond largest Christian church with around fivemillion members, mainly in England. There is howevera single apostolic nuncio to Great Britain, presentlyArchbishop Antonio Mennini. The Roman Catholic Church

in Scotland is Scotland's second largest Christianchurch, representing a sixth of the population. TheApostolic Nuncio to the island of Ireland (bothNorthern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland) isGiuseppe Leanza. Eastern Rite Catholics in the UnitedKingdom are served by their own clergy and do notbelong to the Roman Catholic dioceses but are stillin full communion with the Bishop of Rome.Diocesan bishop is appointed by the Pope and governsaccording to Canon Law and through reference to aCouncil of Priests, a College of Consulters, aFinance Committee and a Pastoral Council.There are 30 territorial Catholic dioceses inEngland, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland iscovered by 7 dioceses.The Pope of the Catholic Church now is Benedict XVI.

II. Christian. (Trần Thị Mỹ Hạnh)

• Christianity,a monotheistic religion based on thelife and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth asrecorded in the Canonical gospels and the lettersof the New Testament.

• Chirstian consists of many denominations such asthe Anglican and the Catholic Churches and some“Free Churches”.

• There are some denominations of Christian in theUK, they are:

1.Methodists:Traditionally, Methodism was particularlyprominent in Cornwall and (in itsCalvinistic form) in Wales, both regions

noted for their non-conformism anddistrust of the Church of England. It

was also very strong in the old milltowns of Yorkshire and Lancashire, wherethe Methodists stressed that the workingclasses were equal to the upper classes inthe eyes of God. British Methodism doesnot have bishops; however, it has always

been characterized by a strong centralorganization, the Connexion, which holds an

annual Conference (note that the Church retains the18th century spelling "connexion" for many purposes).The Connexion is divided into Districts in the chargeof a Chairman (who may be male or female). Methodistdistricts often correspond approximately, ingeographical terms, to counties – as do Church ofEngland dioceses.

2.Baptists: In 1612, Thomas Helwys established aBaptist congregation in London,consisting of congregants from Smyth'schurch. A number of other Baptistchurches sprang up, and they became knownas the General Baptists. The ParticularBaptists were established when a group ofCalvinist Separatists adopted believers’

Baptism.

3.Presbyterians: Presbyterian is a branch of ProtestantChristianity. Presbyterianismoriginated primarily in Scotland.Scotland ensured Presbyterian "churchgovernment" in the Acts of Union in1707 which created the kingdomof Great Britain.

4.The United Reformed Church: The United Reformed Church (URC),a union of Presbyterian andCongregational churches, consistsof about 1,500 congregations inEngland, Scotland and Wales. Thereare about 600 Congregationalchurches in the UK. In Englandthere are three main groups, the

Congregational Federation, the Evangelical Fellowshipof Congregational Churches, and about 100Congregational churches that are loosely federatedwith other congregations in the Fellowship ofIndependent Evangelical Churches, or areunaffiliated. In Scotland the churches are mostlymember of the Congregational Federation and in Waleswhich traditionally has a larger number ofCongregationalists, most are members of the Union ofWelsh Independents.

5.Did you know? Protestant: is a member of any of the Christiangroups that separated from the Roman Catholic Churchin 16th century or of the branches formed later.Protestant Churches usually have simpler ceremoniesthan Roman Catholic Churches, with more emphasis onpreaching (teaching about religion) and the authority

of the Bible. Most Christian in the US and Britainare Protestants, and the Church of England and theChurch of Scotland are Protestant Church.

III.Anglican. (Nguyễn Thị Thảo Nhi)

• THE ANGLICAN CHURCH is often referred to as theChurch of England - that's because the roots ofthe Anglican Communion are in the British Isles.In the UK, the Church of England is theestablished church. It is also the Mother Churchof the worldwide Anglican Communion.

• History:

The Church ofEngland wasestablished in 1534when King HenryVIII broke awayfrom the Church ofRome, andParliament inLondon named him a

Supreme Head of the Anglican Church. Henry VIIIseparated from the Catholic Church to divorce hisfirst wife, Catherine of Aragon and to marry AnneBoleyn. Henry didn't originally plan to break withthe authority of the Pope. Henry assumed that the

Pope would readily grant him the annulment When thePope, after keeping Henry waiting on an answer foralmost six years, refused to approve of thedivorce, Henry was forced into action. Aftersecretly marring Anne, Henry had the newlyproclaimed Archbishop of Canterbury, ThomasCramner, announce his marriage to Katherine ofAragon was null and void, the children (Mary I)illegitimate. Henry's marriage to Anne Boleyn wasdeclared true and the children of the matchlegitimate. King Henry was also a socialist and detested thecorrupt and superstitious ways of the CatholicChurch during the 1500s. There were many barbaricrituals that he (and Anne) felt had no place in theworld of religion, such as learning all prayers inLatin, or superstitious beliefs such as "holysaint's blood" - which was actually goats bloodrefilled regularly by the monks - having healingproperties. Henry wanted to convert the monasteriesand other Catholic establishments into places thatserved the population - schools, hospitals, etc. The Catholic Church was also very wealthy, withlands and treasures which Henry seized and used tofill the English treasuries, as England was in debtat the time. A different reason is because Henrywanted the power so he set up a church he couldrule himself the Church of England.

• In 1553, Mary became Queen of England and madeCatholicism the state religion again. ManyProtestants were cruelly treated and even burntat the stake.

• When Elizabeth, Mary’s half sister was crownedQueen of England in 1558, she became Head ofAnglican Church. Queen Elizabeth I establishedthe autonomy of the Church of England. The Churchpermitted the clergy to get married and orderedthe reading of the Book of Common Prayer.

1. The Church of England:

- The Archbishop of Canterbury is Diocesan Bishopof Canterbury, Primate of All England and leader ofthe Anglican Communion. The Archbishop’s Council: thecentre of an administrative system dealing withinter-Church relations, inter-faith relations, socialquestions, recruitment and training for the ministry,and missionary work. General Synod: the Archbishop ofCanterbury and the Archbishop of York are in chargeof the Synod, which is responsible for importantdecisions affecting the Church, such as educationalpolicy, choosing the clergy and the care of churchbuildings. The Queen on the advices of the PrimeMinister chooses the Archbishops and bishops of theChurch of England.The Church of England does not receive the money fromthe government, but it plays an important role in the

national life of Britain. This role can be seen inthe following ways: Britain’s monarch must always bethe member of the Church of England, and the twoArchbishops and the 24 senior bishops have seats inthe House of Lords and are present at all importantstate ceremonies.

2. The Church in Wales:

- The Church in Wales is Welsh branch of the Churchof England. It became the main Welsh Church in the16th century, although in the 18th and 19th centuriesthe majority of people in Wales left it and joinedNonconformist Churches such as the Methodists andthe Baptists. The Church in Wales now adisestablished church that means the British kingor queen is no longer its Supreme Governor and ithas no connections with the British State.

3. The Church of Ireland:

- The Church of Ireland is part of the worldwideAnglican Communion which has 70 million membersin 164 countries. It is a Catholic and Reformedchurch. The Church of Ireland is able to traceits roots to the earliest days of IrishChristianity. It is a church with three orders ofsacred ministry – Bishops, Priests and Deacons.It has services which follow an acceptedliturgical form and structure.

4. The Scottish Episcopal Church:

- The Scottish Episcopal Church is a welcoming andinclusive Church that traces its history back tothe beginnings of Christianity in Scotland. Weare part of the world-wide Anglican Communion - afamily of some 70 million Christians in more than160 countries - for whom the Archbishop ofCanterbury is a focus for unity. Within ourChurch there are seven historic regions coveringthe whole of Scotland. Each area (known as adiocese) is under the pastoral care of a bishop,who together with the clergy and people of thediocese, seeks to be faithful to Jesus Christ andto respond faithfully to the spiritual needs andpractical concerns of the community. We aregoverned by a representative body - known as theGeneral Synod - of bishops, clergy and lay peoplewhich meets each year.

IV. Other Faiths (Lê Thị Loan)

The main non-Christian faiths in Britain are Judaismand Islam; there are also many Sikhs and Hindus, andsome Buddhists.

1. Judaism

Many member of Judaism cameoriginally from Israel. The God inJudaism is Elohim worshiped atsynagogue.. Britain’s relativelysmall Jewish community enjoys morefreedom from the religious prejudice

than Jews in many other countries. British Jewsnumber around 300,000 with the UK having theworldwide. There are over 50 synagogues of Jew in theUK such as Bevis Marks Synagogue London, Merthyr

Synagogue, etc. Singers Hill Synagogue, Birmingham isone of the notable synagogues in the UK.

Singers_Hill_Synagogue - Birmingham, England.

2. Islam

Many member of Islam came originallyfrom Pakistani and Bangladeshi.Though Islam was not legalized untilthe Trinitarian Act in 1812, recentestimates suggest a total of as highas 2.4 million Muslims over all the

UK. In Islamic theology, God which called on Allah isthe all-powerful and all knowing creator and judgethe universe. In general, people outside Islam knowlittle about Muslim beliefs and practices and aresometimes excessively influenced by media reports. Inthe UK, there are about 30 mosques in areas whereMuslims have settled, though sometimes the buildingdoes not look like a traditional mosque. Claims forthe first mosque in England include the Shah JohanMosque built as a standalone mosque in Liverpool in1889.Besides, there are some big mosques in the UKsuch as Manchester Central Mosque, East LondonMosque, London Central Mosque, etc. In BritainMuslims fought for the right to have Islamic state

school, similar to those for Jews and RomanCatholics.

Shah Jahan Mosque is the oldest purpose-built mosque in the UK

3. Sikhims

Sikhism is a monotheistic religionfounded during the 15th century inthe Punjab religion, by Guru NanakDev which continued to progresswith ten successive Sikh gurus.Sikhism was recorded as the

religion of 336,179 people in the United Kingdom atthe time of the 2001 Census. The largest Sikhcommunities are in London, Manchester and Leeds.

Worship maytake place ina privatehouse or agurdwara .There arenearly 100gurdwaras inover the UK,such as

Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Gurdwara Sahib

Leamington and Warwick; Guru Amir Das Gurdwara, etc.The first Sikh Gurdwara (temple) was established in1911, in Putney, London.

Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha - Southall - UK

4. Hinduism

Many member of Hinduism cameoriginally from Indian. InHinduism, Brahma is one supreme,universal spirit that is the originand support of phenomenal universe.Hinduism was the religion of558,342 people in Great Britain

according to the 2001 census. There are over 300Hindus temples all over the UK, such as Hindus TempleNewcastle West Road; Hindus Temple, Glasgow; SitaRama Temple; etc. Most Hindu Temples in Britain arein London, Bradford, Leicester and Birmingham, whereHindus originally settled when they came to Britain.The Swaminarayan Temple at Neasden, London is thelargest HinduTemple in Europe.

The Neasden Templeis the secondlargest temple ofHinduism in Europe

5. Buddhism

The earliest Buddhist influence onBritain came through its imperialconnections with South East Asia , andas a result the early connectionswere with the Theravada traditions ofBurma, Thailand, and Sri Lanka . The

God in Buddhism is Gautama. Buddhism in the UnitedKingdom has a small but growing number of adherentswhich, according to a Buddhist organization, thereare about 25000 Buddhists in Britain, and some 20Buddhist temples and monasteries. There are somenotable Buddhist temples such as London BuddhistCentre, London Peace Pagoda, Scotland’s BuddhistVihara, etc.

Kagyu SamyéLingMonasteryand TibetanCentre inScotland

Family Life

In recent years there have been many changes infamily life in Britain. These changes reflect thefact that social attitudes towards marriage andmoral values are changing.

I. Family life

1.Marriage and parent’srole (Trần Thị Hương)

The traditional nuclearfamily consisted of twoparents and two or morechildren. The husband wasexpected to go out and workto support family while hiswife stayed at home, doingthe housework and looking

after the children.

Nowadays the family is getting smaller. People tendto marry later also postpone having children. Peopleget married between the ages of 25-30 and many womengive birth beyond the age of 30. The husband is notthe only breadwinner. In most families both husbandand wife work. This gives them a feeling of equalitybecause both partners bring an income into thefamily. Men tend to have more interest in child careand also help their wives with domestic chores.Discipline in the family is not so strict as it usedto be. Parents tend to treat their children as equalsand give them more freedom to make their owndecisions. Therefore, children feel they have acloser relationship with their parents, and membersof the family can discuss or talk about everything.

2.Unmarried couple (Trần Thị Hương)

Nowadays the termcohabitation,live-in boyfriendor girlfriend,has becomecommon.Cohabitationdescribes therelationship ofpeople living

together as husband and wife without getting married.And when people say that they have a live-inboyfriend or girlfriend it means that they live withtheir partner. The number of cohabitating couples hasbeen increasing these days in Britain. One of itsresults is the increasing rate of births to unwedmother.

3.One-parent families (Trần Thị Hương)

There has been an increasein divorce and aconsequence is that moreand more children livewith just one parent.After the divorce bothparents have the duty tosupport their children,but mothers usually wincustody, the right to look

after their children. One-parentfamilies are headed by a divorcedparent, a widow or a widower, or byan unmarried mother.

4.Single mothers (Nguyễn ThànhTrung)

Single mothers are socially accepted these days.Social attitudes are not so hard towards unmarriedwomen having a baby. Most single mothers work, bringup children and do housework as well. Socialprogress, gender equality, vocational training andretraining have given women in general and workingmothers in particular, especially lone mothers,favorable conditions to carry on their working life.Many working mothers and single mothers face theburdens of the domestic chores and child care. Butpart-time employment, flexible work pattern,nurseries have lightened these burdens. However,there are many single mothers with financialproblems. They have to depend on welfare benefits.Local authorities, the National Council for one-parent families’ charitable organizations are readyto provide lone parents with support and advice sothat they can overcome some of their difficulties.

5.Old people (Nguyễn Thành Trung)

Nowadays rising living standards, medical advancesand scientific progress have enabled people to enjoylonger and healthier lives. The number of old peoplehas been increasing. Most elderly people in Britain

live independently intheir own homes. Whenpeople retire they getthe old age pension. Theyare provided with freemedical services by theNHS. They are offered abus pass so that they cango shopping, and visitfamily and friends. Theyare also given discountson coach and train fares.Many elderly people livein an old people’s home.There are also

residential homes for lone, older people who are in

poor health or disabled. They are cared for by thehome’s staff and nurses. There are special servicesprovided by local authorities or by charitableorganizations to help older people living on theirown, such as meals on the wheels, lunch services, andday centre… Some special adult educational coursesare also designed for OAP. So, at retirement age manypeople are happy to attend educational orrecreational courses offered by an LEA. The mostimportant problem of the old is loneliness. Theirchildren and relatives do not live nearby, and havetheir own work to do and their own families to lookafter. To overcome this problem, old people areinvited to join various clubs or associationsorganized by Age Concern. They can make friends, keepin contact with other people, join some leisureactivities, or even participate in some sports. Forexample, bowling has become very popular among olderpeople.Local authorities and voluntary organizations dotheir best to provide help and services. Theirefforts give the senior citizens of Britain thefeeling that they really part of the community.OAP: Old age pensionerNHS: National Health Service, the system of nationalmedical services throughout Britain that enablespeople to obtain treatment and hospital free ofcharge.LEA: local education authority, the local governmentbody that is responsible for the state schools in adistrict as well as further education.

II. Effects of religions on family life (Nguyễn VănThịnh)

Religion and family have had a close link throughoutthe history of humanity. The Catholic Church played akey role in the development of the family duringtheir roughly 1000 year period. Although it was

mainly a union for economic purposes during themajority of human history, religions stronglysupported the family as a social unit, and to thepresent still is one of the main supporters oftraditional family valuesOne must consider the effects that religious beliefmay have on the family structure, and on individualmembers of a family1). Family relationshipsChurch has many organizations for family like camping

club or youth club. Familycould draw together closerby join in these activities.They also spent more timetogether in some ritualactivities at church. Bysharing the same beliefs,family members have manythings in common to talk toand shareReligion has a great

potential to bring a family together, as it can beviewed as a similar life philosophy and sharedactivityAs with any regular activity, religion has thepotential to unite families, but there are certainaspects of religion that can be very destructive toan individual, as well as their relationships tofriends and family members2). Marital stabilityMarriage and family are seen as sacred unions in theChristian faith, and there have been studies thatshow regular attendees at religious services placemore value on their marriage and their roles asparents than people who do not attend religiousservices.

Bysocializingstrong familyvalues from ayoung age,biblicalteachingsinfluenceadults toalso be moreforgiving of

a spouse’s lack of love and respect, and religiouscouples are also more likely to stay married for thesake of the children. Married couples who regularlypractice religion are more likely to work together,perceive more benefits from marriage, and are lesslikely to use aggression or reach no conclusionsabout their disagreements. Religious devotion mayalso help couples during hard times, thus makingtheir marriage more stableReligious devotion could also become a problem ininterfaith marriages, especially if one spouse isstrongly religious while the other is not; this couldlead to extended conflicts in values and beliefs.However, this would more likely be the result of poorchoice of a life partner by both individuals3). Happier family lifeNumerous morals can begin to take root from religiousbelief regarding one’s behavior as an individual andas a member of a family: lack of sexual relationshipsbefore marriage, a desire to help others, a greaterability for forgiveness, or the moral obligation tosave others

Rel

igious families value their time spent together more.In addition to placing greater value on the timespent together, religious families may also enjoymore activities together, such as church retreats.Youths who come from families which are activelyinvolved in religious activities also tend to enjoystronger family relationships than youths who comefrom non-religious families. Youth who come fromreligious families are more likely to enjoy goodrelationships with their parents, and they are alsomore likely to participate in family activities suchas playing board games, eating dinner together, andtraveling together. Youths whose parents attendreligious services at least weekly are also morelikely to have parents who were strict, but offeredpraise; parents who knew their close friends’ parentsand where their children were when they were not athome; as well as fathers who were positive rolemodelsReligious morals in general have a positive effect onfamily life, although again, extreme religiousdevotion can inspire morals which enslave anindividual to their faith rather than benefit theirlife4). Effects on childrenYoung children have tender sensibilities, and theytend to internalize a lot of advice withoutcritically thinking about it first, as their brainhas not developed enough for them to think

analytically of any issues they are told about. Thiscan sometimes be tolerated, but when life values andcrucial morals are involved, one must be careful whata child is taught

If childrenareinfluencedearly in lifeby religiousvalues, theywill retainthose values,leading tolessrebellion intheir teen

years, a portion of the study also concludedChildren who regularly attended religious serviceswith their parents well into their late teens havealso been found to have a much stronger relationshipwith their parents, even when they reach adulthoodand leave home5). Negative effects of religionThe typical assumed, stereotypical view of religionon the family is that it provides emotional andspiritual support, brings families closer togetherand provides strong, positive role models. However,this can be the source of conflict within familiesand communities.

Couples in interfaith marriages may tolerate eachother’s views, but when they have a child, they mayfind they have strong differences of opinionregarding how the child should be raised. Theseconflicting views, such as which religion to raisethe child in can lead to a break-up of therelationship. Indoctrinating children into religiousbeliefs may also include forcing certain ideas upon achild that does not understand them..Extreme religions can also tear families apart. Thereare a number of cults who wish their members toisolate themselves from others, including theirfamily members if those individuals do not agree withthe cult’s agenda. Extreme religion is verydestructive to any individual’s mental well-being,leading people to be deluded, and can easily break upeven the strongest of family relationships.