Kent, England - Churches & Religions

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Kent, England

The coastal county of Kent in South East England is bordered north to south by Essex, London, Surrey and East Sussex. It is also linked, via the Channel Tunnel with the French department of Pas-de-Calais. The administrative centre, or county town of Kent, is Maidstone.

Kent was first settled by an ancient Celtic tribe before it was one of the first British territories conquered and settled by Anglo-Saxons. Since the time of the reformation in the sixteenth century, Canterbury Cathedral in Kent has been the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England. The cathedral was originally built in the sixth century as the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury and was also part of a Benedictine monastic community known as Christ Church, Canterbury. Canterbury Cathedral is the oldest cathedral in England, followed by Rochester Cathedral in Medway, Kent, St John the Baptist Church and St Nicholas Church.

Religions in England

Although a welcoming multi-faith society, the UK's official religion is Christianity, with the Church of England the state church with Queen Elizabeth II as supreme governor. Other Christian religions in England include Catholic, Baptist and Methodist.

Christianity

The first evidence of Christianity in England dates back to Roman Britain in the late second century AD. The patron saint of England was initially Saint Edmund, but since the middle ages has been Saint George, whose red cross is the flag of England.

Anglicanism

The Church of England is governed by bishops, 26 of whom represent the church in the House of Lords. In England, the church is divided into dioceses belonging to the province of Canterbury or York. The church considers itself as a continuation of the Catholic church introduced by St Augustine's sixth-century mission to Kent, though this has been disputed.

Catholicism

The Catholic Church in England and Wales is directed by its Bishops' Conference, led by the Archbishop of Westminster. The church is divided into five provinces led by the archbishops of Westminster, Liverpool, Birmingham, and Southwark in England and Cardiff in Wales. The Catholic Church considers itself a continuation of the earliest Celtic Christian communities.

Atheism

Atheism is the belief that God does not exist, not to be confused with agnosticism in which someone does not know, or believes that it is impossible to know, if a god exists. The term atheism first appeared in the 16th century but was only used by individuals from the 18th century during the Age of Enlightenment when human reason was advocated over religious belief.

There is no one ideology to which all atheists adhere. They say “there is no God” with the same confidence that they say “there are no ghosts” or “there is no magic.” They deny that there are beings or phenomena outside the scope of natural law. Atheists do not think that everything is within the scope of human knowledge, but that this is not a reason to believe in supernatural beings. Atheists, like theists, believe that it is presumptuous to tell someone else why they believe what they believe or to insist that someone else’s belief has some hidden psychological cause, rather than a justifying reason, behind it.

Religious experiences are often cited as making a strong case for theism, yet atheists say they have similarly profound experiences, moved by music and nature as well as by demonstrations of personal courage, generosity and empathy. Even working in solidarity with others is often an exhilarating and inspiring experience, but these are about human beings at their best. Love is one of the foundations of this religion and what bigger holiday is there than St. Valentine's Day to celebrate Love? Love each other and celebrate! Make gifts to each other (you can see these Valentine's gift ideas).

Atheists are those who have settled the “God question” to their satisfaction, with no doubts, on the balance of evidence and argument. According to polls, Europe and East Asia are the regions with the highest rates of atheism. In 2015, 61% of people in China reported that they were atheists, whereas in the UK this has been recorded at 8%, though in total, 38% said they were irreligious.

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