When we first arrived in the UK, something we learned within the first couple weeks of history class was that the majority of the English population did not believe God.  (We were actually told that if we ever wanted to get rid of a guy who was talking to us, that we should tell him we have church in the morning and we would surely be left alone.)  Most Brits actually believed that it is a dated belief and that Americans are very Victorian because we still do believe in God.  It was in the Victorian Age when the English were very religious, but after changing over into the Edwardian period, science took over and Charles Darwin’s beliefs of evaluation replaced the belief of God.

In my opinion, it is more pronounced that God isn’t a strong belief due to the actions of people more so than just witnessing people who are going to church.  An example of this would be how many of the guys act in the pubs and clubs at night.  However, we have gone to a few different kinds of services in Cambridge and at each one, the churches were completely filled with people.  After talking to a Cambridge student after a bible study, he did say that the percentage of people in the nation who believe in God is increasing.  He also told me how different churches of England range from being very conservation to being quite contemporary, such as the church we had just attended.  Much like at home, there is a wide range, the main difference is, in England, all of the churches are Anglican.  However, there is still a wide variety of churches from different religions spread throughout Cambridge such as Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Methodist and Lutheran.

We have gone to services in different countries as well, such as when we were in France we went to Notre Dame.  It was interesting due to the fact that even though the mass was in French, because it was a Catholic mass, everything followed the exact same order and I knew exactly what was going on at all times.  The only part that I really could not relate or understand at all was the homily.  I am very curious to see how the mass in Cambridge, which actually had the readings read in French that day, the mass in France, and when we go to Italy, the mass at the Vatican are all similar and what differences they are share.

Another huge difference between churches back home and cathedrals in Europe is that the cathedrals in Europe are absolutely breathtaking.  Anytime you walk past one, you should go inside because you never know what wonder lies behind the doorway.  We have gone into Cathedrals in every country we have gone to and some are over 1000 years old.  You definitely can’t find those in America.

Overall, from my observation, it does seem that the UK is the least religious country in Europe.  Many other countries still have a pronounced religion, such as Catholicism in Ireland and Lutheranism in Germany.  It is interesting  how beliefs and levels of belief varies so greatly in such a small continent.  Though I know back home we have that too, I don’t think it’s like here where the UK is not religious and right next store Ireland is whereas I don’t feel like back home one state is very religious and the next isn’t at all.

All in all, if you come to England and want to find a church that suits you, you will be able to find one.  Most of the people in our group really enjoy going to Holy Trinity because it is very similar to Celebrate back at Valpo.  There is also the Lutheran church right in our backyard that our Lutheran members enjoy going to as well as the conservative Catholic church across town.  In my opinion, that aspect is very similar to back home.