II. Complete the sentences with the best answer (a, b or c).

1. As a result of their protesting of widely accepted teachings, Luther, Calvin and other religious reformers soon became known as

a) Puritans.

b) Protestants.

c) Nonconformists.

2. But many English people considered the Church of England too much like

a) the Church of Rome.

b) the Catholic Church.

c) the Protestant Church.

3. As these names suggest the nonconformists wanted to be free to choose their own form of

a) church service.

b) church organization and services.

c) church decoration.

4. The Church has its court whose jurisdiction today extends only to

a) church attendance.

b) church discipline.

c) church property and church discipline.

5. The highest body of the Church of Scotland is

a) the General Congress.

b) the General Assembly.

c) the General Session.

III. Are the statements true or false? Correct the false statements.

1. Clergy of the established churches work in services which are run by the State, such as the armed forces, national hospitals and prisons, and are paid a salary by the State.

2. For over a thousand years Roman Catholic Christianity had been the religion of most of the world.

3. The Church of England was formed in 1534 by King Henry VIII, who broke away from the Church of Rome and declared himself Head of the Church of England.

4. The Puritans who sailed from Southampton in the "Mayflower" in 1620 were the founders of modern America.

5. The Queen of England, on the advice of the Prime Minister, appoints the two archbishops and all the bishops, but the Church receives no money from the State.

6. The central governing body of the Church of England is the General Synod, which is the centre of an administrative system dealing with such matters as education, mission, inter-church relations, social questions, recruitment and training for the clergy, the care of church buildings.

7. To attract young people, some priests have introduced a form of classical music and encouraged young musicians to accompany the prayers.

8. Presbyterianism is a severe form of Protestantism, founded in the sixteenth century and following the teaching of the great French reformer, Calvin.

9. Both men and women are admitted to the clergy of the Church of Rome.

10. There are Christian communities of foreign origin like the Orthodox, Lutheran and Reformed Churches of various European countries which have their centres of worship.

IV. Answer the questions.

1. What part has religion played in the national way of life?

2. What are the official churches in Great Britain? Why are they official?

3. Who were the first Protestants and what were their ideas?

4. Why did the process of church reform go on painfully?

5. How was the Church of England formed? Who became Puritans when the Church of England was formed?

6. Why were the Puritans persecuted by the English monarchs? Why are they considered to be the founders of modern America?

7. Describe the role of the Queen in the Church of England and the government system of the Church.

8. Give an account of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland.

9. Examine the structure and nature of the Roman Catholic Church in Britain.

10. Characterize other religious communities existing in Great Britain.

Points for discussion

1. The place of the Church in the national way of life of a State.

2. "Britain has the reputation of being an irreligious country with poor church-going habits". — Why?

3. Religious communities and religious tolerance in Great Britain.