Abstract
A brief description of Henry VIII's decision to found the Anglican Church along with a personal reflection on whether the author of the paper would have made the same choice.

From the Paper
"King Henry VIII's decision to found the Anglican Church began with what contemporary observers termed the King's Great Matter the King's attempted annulment of his marriage to his then wife Catherine of Aragon. Popular perception views Henry's decision as purely based on a desire to father a male heir and to marry the much younger Anne Boleyn without considering the larger implications of the issues involved."

Tags:Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Anglican church, Act of Supremacy

Abstract
The writer explains that John Wesley and his brother, Charles, founded the movement as an alternative to the English Anglican Church. The paper shows how the Methodist Episcopal Church began its migration to the Colonies in approximately 1772, and how the Church began to take on radical changes from the doctrines of Wesleyan Methodism. Included in these changes was the renaming of the church to The United Methodist Church. In summation, in opposition to the original doctrine of the Church regarding centralized functioning, the paper shows that the majority of attendees feel that decisions made in the local church will be more effective.

Table of Contents:
Thesis Statement
The Movement in the Colonies and Westward
Organizing of the United Methodists
The Future of the United Methodist Church
Bibliography

From the Paper
"At the same time as the Southern migration is occurring the Methodist movement is also moving Northward across the Ohio River, and into Indiana. This migration is taking place within a period a full fifteen years before Indiana becomes a State and creates for the Methodist Episcopal Church many contentious issues concerning the governance of the Church and its mission at this point in History. For example, with a Church population spreading so rapidly and far flung, how does the Methodist Episcopal Church provide "ministers," for their large and now scattered flock?
"Indiana ironically enough and to the displeasure of John and Charles Wesley becomes the center for control of the Church and from this organization of power comes the new organization known as the United Methodist Church. For American Methodism theology, doctrine, leadership, organization and worship models come directly from John Wesley's movement of the eighteenth century England. However, Wesley's appeal is to English Anglicans whose relationship to their church had been decidedly "luke-warm," and is lacking in the drive for a personal God-man relationship. It is the desire for a personal God-man relationship that the persons in the frontier of the rapidly expanding United States want most to aid and comfort them in the endurance of the hardships they face."

Tags:episcopal, bishop, connectionalism, john, wesley

Abstract
This paper looks at the Episcopal Church's views of homosexuality and how it has addressed issues such as homosexual weddings and homosexual ministers. The paper describes the divisive nature of the subject and how some within the church take a more liberal stance regarding homosexuality and how others are still strictly opposed to it.

From the Paper
"The Episcopal Church in the United States is a quiet affair, not known for rollicking revivals as are other Protestant denominations, nor it is beholden to the Pope as is Roman Catholicism, the religion that spawned the Church of England when King Henry VIII wanted to divorce and remarry, ultimately becoming the nominal head of a new church, the Church of England. The Church of England, in turn, spawned the Anglican Communion, a federation of churches all following the liturgies and other aspects of the Church of England. Generally, they are named after their country of residence: Church of Ireland, for example. However, in the United States, the branch of the Anglican Communion calls itself the Episcopal Church. While the Anglican Communion does not regard the Pope as its spiritual head, it has instead the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Rowan Williams, filling the role as leader of the church; while the Anglican Communion traces its prelates through apostolic succession, as does the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion accords virtual equality in many ways to all successors to the original apostles."

Tags:bishops, dioceses, apostolic, succession, leadership, gay, man, anglican, communion

Abstract
This paper describes the origins, core values and doctrines of the Anglican Church and of the Orthodox Church, which comprise several denominations. The paper explains that while the Anglicans and Orthodoxy view each other as being dissimilar, they can never deny that they are of the same faith and belief since these are all centered on the belief of the Risen Christ and the love He preached. The paper also reports on the achievements of the Lambeth Conference, which attempted to pave the way for a future possible unification of the divided churches especially on the American continent.

From the Paper
"The Orthodox Church traces its beginnings to "the one, undivided Church, said to have begun on the day of Pentecost, 50 days after the Resurrection of Christ. Already by the 4th century the term 'Orthodox Christian' was used to designate those Christians who remained faithful to the totality of the teaching of Jesus Christ and the apostles, as opposed to those who were known as 'heretics' who promoted false doctrines and beliefs. The term 'orthodox' means 'correct believing' or 'correct, true glory.'"

Tags:continuation england respect, lambeth conference, dialogues

Abstract
This essay begins with a history, since the end of World War II, whereby attendance rates in all major denominations, such as the Anglican, Catholic and Presbyterian churches, have fallen dramatically. The paper then examines the demographic and cultural profiles, to understand that this phenomenon is the effect of the changing face of Australian society. This brief history of Australian religious practices states that rather than becoming a more secular society, Australian religion is more dynamic than doomsayers would have the populace believe.

From the Paper
"Since European settlement Australia has been a predominantly Christian country with at least two-thirds of the population affiliated with various denominations even until the present. However, since the end of World War II there has been a marked decrease in congregational numbers for all mainstream denominations, such as the Catholic, Anglican, Baptist and Presbyterian churches. From 1950 church attendance rates dropped from 44 percent to 25 percent in 1990, according to the National Church Life Survey. The causes of this phenomenon are debated within both the secular and religious realm and many theories have been proposed, which can loosely be divided into three main areas."

Tags:congregations, history, religion, secularisation

Abstract
This paper compares and contrasts the Roman Catholic Mass and the Anglican Church's Order of the Eucharist. In discussing these two Christian rituals, the paper focuses on the meaning of the Eucharist, transubstantiation and the effects of Vatican II.

Tags:Roman Catholic, Mass, Anglican Order, Eucharist, transubstantiation Christian

Abstract
This paper discusses how although the Catholics and Anglicans of today respect and tolerate each other's beliefs, there are still disagreements with certain doctrines and practices. In particular, the paper looks at one of the contentious issues between them, the validity of the Anglo-Catholic Orders and the stance of the Roman Church on this matter. The paper examines how the Eastern Orthodox pronounced a yea to validity but the Roman Church spelled out a resounding no that tends to include the Anglo-Catholics as "heretical."

From the Paper
"The Roman Church on the other hand is a different story. The 1896 apostolic letter of Pope Leo XIII Apostolicae Curae upheld the Roman Church's position of the Anglo-Catholic Holy Orders as being absolutely null and void. The commission designated to study the matters was not true to the tasks assigned them. A case in point presented by Upham when he writes: "...it must always be remembered that the Papacy is served and maintained by a very fallible bureaucracy that 'can be manipulated by politically-driven motives.'" Despite the "very mixed and often conflicting opinions between these men regarding their work and subject of discussion," the verdict was against the Anglo-Catholic Holy Orders. Whether their actions were politically-driven or self-serving, the decision clearly was not a demonstration of what being a Christian truly means."

Tags:Eastern, Orthodox, Roman, Church

Abstract
This paper examines how, between 1603 and 1611, James I made many attempts to create a "Jacobethan balance" in his determination to include as many people as possible in his Anglican Church. It looks at how these attempts centered largely around his efforts to separate the extreme Puritans from those who were prepared to conform to his rule and how by well-chosen appointments and discriminating clerical patronage, he successfully guided the Church of England into the middle ground.

From the Paper
"The most extreme Puritans referred to themselves as the "Godly Elect", which obviously was some cause for resentment, and believed in Predestination (that they were already destined for a place in heaven) and thus lived very "Godly" lives; they set out to convince themselves of this and so they could interpret any occurrence in ways that suited them and such ideologies. Their deliberate self-separation made them a potential threat, but most Puritans (not all of whom even saw themselves precisely as such) conformed politically as well as religiously (as the King was head of the Church of England, the two were inseparable), similarly to the Closet Catholics, who were also well tolerated in James's reign (some cause of jealousy for the Puritans - Parliament suggested many times that Recusancy Laws be strengthened, mainly as a result of their relaxation in the face of the Spanish (and French) Match, later in James's reign."

Tags:church, anglicans, england

Abstract
This paper discusses that the Puritans were a highly restrictive people; they believed that their religion was the only correct one. The paper reveals that most of Puritan society revolved around religion, although there is no actual "Puritan religion" of which to speak; mostly, Puritan society came about because many people arrived in America with non-conformist views toward the Anglican Church. The author states that the concept of Manifest Destiny was important to the Puritans and was reflected in American history because many people believed that it was their God-given right and destiny to expand out toward the West Coast and conquer the lands that they found there.

From the Paper
"As for the religious leaders and holy men of Puritan society, they believed that they were far superior to everyone else. This did not include only the people in the Puritan society, but people of other races, nationalities, and religions as well. Often, the Puritan holy men were very rich, but they felt threatened and frightened by individuals of other religions who shared the same duties over their flocks as the Puritan leaders had over theirs. Puritan holy men were believed to be devoid of original sin, and they taught the Puritan society to believe that anyone who preached another religion was an instrument of the devil. They encouraged this not only because they felt threatened by other religious leaders, but also because many of the other religions were more open and accessible to the general public, and the Puritan holy men wished to continue to control society through religion."

Tags:restrictive, women, leaders, manifest, anglican

Abstract
This paper explains that the English Civil War, (also called the 'Puritan Revolution' or 'English Revolution') was really a series of wars fought during the mid-1600s in England and exacerbated by battles with the Scottish, the Irish, and the Welsh. The author points out that not only did the Puritans oppose King Charles but also the middle class opposed the wealthy and the titled; the result of the revolution was that the wealthy and titled no longer held all the power and that the Puritans ousted the Anglican Church but, at the death of their leader Oliver Cromwell, the Anglicans returned as the Church of England. The paper relates that the English Civil War gained the territories of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, which would form the backbone of the British Empire.

From the Paper
"Perhaps the biggest difference in England from 1600 to 1700 related directly to the outcome of the English Civil War. In 1600, a popular queen, Elizabeth I was on the throne, and England was supreme in many facets of the world, including her naval superiority and her economy. In 1600, the throne was secure, and England was relatively peaceful. By 1700, England had been a Commonwealth, ruled by the self-righteous Puritan Oliver Cromwell. King Charles had been executed, and the Puritans, who had opposed him, had rid themselves of the ruling bishops of the Catholic Church. The economy and trade had begun to rise during Tudor times, but by 1700, there was a distinct middle class in England, and it was many of these people who had risen up against the king and attempted to find a voice for themselves in English politics."

Tags:series, puritan, middle-class, irish, empire