How has Christianity influenced British culture?

• The Church of England is the 'established' religion of England. This means that it has links to the government and other official bodies such as the judiciary (the court system)
• The monarch is the supreme Governor of the Church of England. All monarchs are crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury
• The UK parliament is the body that makes all UK laws by passing Acts of Parliament. It is made up of two 'houses'. The house of commons is made up of elected representatives called MPs. The house of Lords is not elected, and its member are of two types. Lords temporal are appointed by the monarch, but the Lords spiritual are 26 of the most senior Church of England bishops. For laws to be passed, they must be approved by both Houses of Parliaments
• The Christian calendar influences UK public holidays. The two major Christians festivals, Christmas and Easter, are still widely celebrated in the UK. School holidays fall over these periods, and many businesses close.
• 'Keep holy the Sabbath day is a Commandment. Traditionally, Christians go to church on a Sunday, and it was regarded as a 'day of rest'. As a result, the hours shops can trade on a Sunday are restricted.
• In a UK court of law, witnesses giving evidence are asked to swear they are telling the truth. They often do this on the Bible, although, if they are from a different religious tradition, they can swear on their own holy book, or, if they are not religious, they can make a witness affirmation', where they promise to tell the truth without reference to a holy book.
• Christian hymns and readings are often made at public events - for example, the National Service of Remembrance held each year to commemorate those who served and died in the two World Wars and later conflicts.
• Lots of people in the UK mark important life events, like marriage, in a church, even if they are not religious. The role of religion in education
• Today, about one-third of state-funded schools in England and Wales are faith schools. This means that, although their income comes from public funds, these schools have a 'religious character', which means they have formal links with a religion or religious organisation.
• • Of the 7000 faith primary and secondary schools in England and Wales, 98 per cent have a Christian character. Of these, 68 per cent are Church of England schools and 30 per cent are Catholic.
• All pupils must, by law, be taught religious education and all schools should provide a daily act of worship. Religious education should reflect the fact that the traditions of the UK are, in the main, Christian. For state schools without a religious character, more than half of the acts of worship should be Christian.
• However, many schools celebrate a variety of religious traditions throughout the school year.