Lesson video

Hello there, my young scholars of religion.

My name is Miss Marks, and I'm gonna be your religious education teacher today.

And today we're gonna be exploring different forms of Christianity, particularly those that were found within the 2021 census data from England and Wales, under what religion people said they were affiliated with.

We're gonna look at how that it's very diverse and can be quite complex, and look at the similarities and differences within and between these different Christian groups.

So for this, we're gonna use a little bit of theology, but also a lot of social science tools.

So when you're ready, let's go.

So by the end of this lesson, you'll be able to explain why there is diversity within Christianity and how this is changing over time.

So let's start with our key terms: "Source of authority," something or someone that people look to for guidance, rules, or truth.

"Diversity," when there are differences between things, e.

g.

, in beliefs or practises.

"Denomination," a branch of Christianity.

So look out for those in today's lesson.

So our lesson today will have three sections: what the census tells us about Christianity, interpretations of sources of authority, and diversity of beliefs and practises.

So let's start with our first section, what the census tells us about Christianity.

In the 2021 census of England and Wales, most people identified as being affiliated to a religious worldview.

So whilst it wasn't all Christianity, the majority of people said they were part of a religion when the question was asked, "What is your religion?" So we've got 60.

5% of people who responded with a religion, whereas 39.

5% of people responded with no religion.

Which religious worldview do you think had the largest number of people affiliated to it then? So, within that green section of people who responded with a religion, which religion do you think it was that had the largest number in the census of England and Wales in 2021? Pause the video and have a think, and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, that religion was Christianity.

Well, within the census data, people had the opportunity to write in particular religious groups that they were affiliated to, and over 190, so 191, different religious groups were recorded.

So different religious groups, we've got over 190 here in that 2021 census data.

And of those 191, 120 were different denominations or forms of Christianity.

So, not just people saying that they're Christian, but particular groups or branches of Christianity were written in.

And I'm not gonna show you all 120 now, but they included groups such as: Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, United Reformed Church, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Pentecostal, charismatic, evangelical, interdenominational, Protestant, and the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers.

So here's just a snapshot of some of those 120 that were recorded.

And we can see from this that some of them are denominations, so sort of kind of official separate groups within Christianity.

So you've got something like Anglican, for example, or Eastern Orthodox.

Others are more like general approaches to religion.

So you have this phrase here, "charismatic" or "evangelical," that may not be a particular denomination, but are just different ways of approaching the religion.

Or even we've got here "Protestant," which is a very large umbrella term for different types, different denominations of Christianity.

And then we've got this phrase here, "interdenominational." So some people wanted to affiliate as being part of different denominations at the same time, and not just one in particular.

So the example I had here is Roman Catholic is a particular denomination, whereas charismatic is more of an approach to religion, an approach to worship.

So here we have our denominations tree, which stems from Jesus and the disciples.

And then we've got different branches of Christianity coming out from that root and that base.

And most social scientists estimate there are thousands of different denominations of Christianity in the world.

So we just have a few here on our tree here with the branches.

And you may be aware of other Christian denominations that aren't on here, but it shows how they kind of branch off from one another.

And most social scientists would say there are thousands of these different denominations in the world.

But all of those different denominations will have their basis in that central figure of Jesus of Nazareth and his disciples.

So that's why we've got them at the base of our tree, the root of our tree.

We've got Jesus and the disciples, and then the other branches come out from that.

Since that time, there have been different groups and denominations which have formed.

So let's have a think about some important dates for the formation of these different Christian denominations, then.

So I've got a timeline along here, and we're gonna look at some of these important dates.

So, in 1054, so about 1,000 years after Jesus, there was an event called the Great Schism, which is where there was a split between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches.

So this is seen as like the first major sort of schism or split that we have in different denominations forming.

And then in 1517, we have another kind of split with the Protestant Reformation, where Martin Luther and others challenged the Roman Catholic Church over some beliefs and practises.

So then we start to see that tree branching out.

And that's in 1517.

In 1534, so slightly after that, the Church of England, which is also known as the Anglican Church, is formed under King Henry VII.

And that separated the Church of England from Roman Catholic authority and was influenced by many of those ideas from the Protestant Reformation.

In 1609, the Baptist Church was formed by John Smyth in Amsterdam.

So this is the beginning of another important Christian denomination.

In 1650, the Quaker movement begins, and George Fox founds the Religious Society of Friends.

1721, the Russian Orthodox Church becomes an independent church from the Greek Orthodox Church.

So whilst we've got here lots of dates to do with the Roman Catholic Church and then Protestant and Church of England, also in the kind of Orthodox branch of Christianity, there's a split there that happens in 1721.

So you can start to see how those branches are formed on the tree.

And then in 1740, we've got a Methodist revival movement, which starts with John and Charles Wesley from within the Church of England.

So even within one denomination, we start to have others forming.

In 1850, the Greek Orthodox Church is recognised as its own independent church.

In 1953, the New Testament Church of God UK is founded in the UK as one of the earliest Pentecostal churches.

And then in 1972, the United Reformed Church is founded as a merger of different Christian churches within England.

So that was really an attempt to bring together different denominations that had been split under one umbrella term, the United Reformed Church.

So we can see there are different splits and changes that are happening over time for Christian denominations.

Let's do a quick check before we move on.

Which event came first: the Protestant Reformation, the Church of England is formed, or the Great Schism? Which of those came first? Pause the video and have a go.

We'll see what you come up with in a moment.

Well done.

It was the Great Schism in 1054.

Well done.

Well, let's look at the census data on Christianity from England and Wales, then.

In 2011, we've got 59.

3% of people said they were Christian, and in 2021, we've got 42.

6%.

So, overall, we can see that less people said they were Christian.

So we could say that's one sort of trend that we can say in England and Wales is that fewer people affiliate as being Christian.

But if we then delve into that and look at the different denominations or approaches to the religion, it's not the same picture for all the different types of Christianity in England and Wales.

According to a 2024 YouGov report, affiliation to some denominations has seen an increase rather than a decrease in numbers.

So, for example, in the Roman Catholic Church, there's been an increase in the number of people who say that they were Roman Catholic, according to this report in 2024.

And also Pentecostal churches.

So this is a bit of an umbrella term for different types of churches which have a real focus on charismatic worship and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

If you think of that's when Pentecost was, was when the Holy Spirit came to Jesus' disciples after he ascended up to heaven.

So Pentecostal churches have also seen an increase rather than a decrease in numbers.

Let's explore this a bit further.

So one example could be Roman Catholicism in the UK, and here's Niamh, and she's going to tell us about it.

She says, "I consider myself a Roman Catholic, but I don't attend church very often.

I celebrate Christmas with my family, but I don't agree with many of the Church's teachings.

It's still a key part of my identity.

I was baptised as a child, had a great celebration for my first communion, and these are still important moments for me." How might Niamh's example show why the numbers of Roman Catholic Christians have not decreased? Pause the video and have a think, and you could talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

We could say Niamh is an example of a cultural Christian who feels it's a very important part of her cultural identity.

While she's not necessarily a regular churchgoer and sort of holding onto all the Church's teachings, she still considers herself to be Christian because of that cultural link that she has.

And now Agata's gonna give us another example about Roman Catholicism in the UK.

Agata says, "My family are from Poland, but we moved over when we moved over when I was little.

We're Roman Catholic, and our faith is very important to us.

And it was a great help to my parents to attend a Roman Catholic Church here when they moved over.

We have a lively church with new members who are Ukrainian.

I volunteered to support them through teaching English classes to the children." So here we've got a family that have come from a country where many people are Roman Catholic, and when they come to the UK, they are able to continue that by going to a Roman Catholic Church here.

What could Agata's example show us about why the numbers of Roman Catholic Christians have not decreased then? Pause the video again.

You could talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, Agata's example could show us the impact that migration can have on the numbers of people who are in different religions within the country too.

And now Faith is gonna give us an example from Pentecostalism.

Faith says, "I go to a free church, which means it's not part of the larger denominations.

My church is a Pentecostal church.

I love the charismatic worship style we have.

I feel that I really connect with the Holy Spirit in the services.

Our church numbers are growing as more people turn to Jesus through experiences like the ones I have when I'm worshipping God." How might Faith's example show why there's been an increase in Pentecostal Christians then? Pause the video and have a think.

And you could talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, Faith hints here about how some people might convert to Christianity, which would increase the numbers, too.

And within Faith's church, there's that real focus on connecting with the Holy Spirit and having experiences of God, which could also link to people converting too.

Let's do a quick check before we move on.

Is this true or false: the number of people in the UK who affiliate as Roman Catholic is increasing? Is that true or false? Pause the video and have a go.

We'll see how you've done in a moment.

Well done.

That is true, isn't it? Why? Well, according to that YouGov report, whilst the number of people who affiliate as Christian overall has decreased, in Roman Catholic and Pentecostal denominations, this has increased.

Well done.

Let's do a practise task to suit what we've learned.

Using the image and words as a prompt, state three changes that have happened to the numbers of Christians in the UK.

And your words are "Christianity," "Roman Catholic," and "Pentecostal." Pause the video and have a go.

We'll see how you've done in a moment.

Well done.

Using the image as a prompt and the words that I said you needed to include, you had to state three changes that have happened to the number of Christians in the UK.

And you might have said: Overall, the census shows that Christianity is declining in numbers, the number of Roman Catholic Christians has increased, and the number of Pentecostal Christians has increased.

Well done.

So onto our second section, then: interpretations of sources of authority.

So here again we've got our denominations tree that we've been thinking about today, branching out from Jesus and the disciples into the different denominations.

Sources of authority are important to all of these different denominations, and all Christian groups look to the examples of Jesus and the words of the Bible as a key source of authority.

But how this has been passed down through the Christian traditions may differ between different denominations, and then how it's interpreted.

So the same sort of key source of authority as the life of Jesus and then the Bible is there for all the different denominations, but it could have been passed down differently, and it might be interpreted differently, too.

So let's understand this a bit more.

The books of the Bible were written across thousands of years, from many different writers and languages.

It wasn't one book that Jesus himself wrote or that was revealed at the time of Jesus in its totality.

It was written over thousands of years, different writers, different languages, different places.

Some books from those times are seen as part of the Bible, and others aren't.

So there were lots of different books written at those different times to do with religion, and some of them are seen as part of the Bible, and others are not.

And different criteria determines this.

So it's been decided at different councils and sort of discussions which are in the Bible and which are not.

Different denominations might have differences in what's included in their Bible to others.

So yes, the Bible is a key source of authority for all the different denominations, but the different denominations might have a slightly different Bible to each other.

Also, different denominations may favour different translations of those books into English 'cause they weren't written in English.

English doesn't exist as a language when these books were written.

So how they're then translated can then influence the words that you are even reading on the page if you're reading in English, because you're not reading it in the original language.

So how it's been translated also may differ for different denominations, 'cause they might have different people or different translations that they trusted to do that translating.

So, yes, the Bible is important to all Christians, but there might be differences in its compilation, translation, and interpretation between these different denominations.

Let's do a quick check.

All Christian denominations have the same list of books within their Bibles.

Is that true or false? Pause the video and have a go.

We'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done.

It's false, isn't it? Because different denominations have the majority of the same Bible books, but some denominations include some books that others don't.

Well done.

So, along with the Bible and the life of Jesus, there are other sources of authority for Christians.

Can you think of some? Pause the video and have a think, and you could talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Other sources of authority can include: church leaders, church traditions, other Christians, ethical theories that are supported by the church, their own conscience.

So it's not just the Bible and the life of Jesus that's going to be a source of authority for Christians.

There are a whole range of things which can be an influence for Christians and the source of authority for them.

So some Christian denominations place a large emphasis on church traditions that have been passed down, and two examples are the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.

So with the Bible and the life of Jesus, there are also church traditions which have been passed down, which are an important source of authority.

So Jason explains, he's Roman Catholic: "The pope is the head of my denomination, the Catholic Church, and he's the successor to Peter, a disciple of Jesus." So, yes, the life of Jesus and the disciples is a very important source of authority.

And so for Jason, he sees the pope as a continuation of that.

And Giorgio says, "The Patriarch of Constantinople is the spiritual leader of my denomination, the Eastern Orthodox Church.

This position is traced back to Jesus' disciple Andrew." So again, it traces back to the life of Jesus and the disciples.

But that tradition that's been passed down through the Eastern Orthodox Church is also very important today.

Thank you, Jason and Giorgio.

Why might church traditions then be an important source of authority for some Christians? Pause the video and have a think, and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

While in the Bible, Jesus hands authority to his disciple Peter, and he says: "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.

I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.

Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." What authority does Jesus give to Peter in this passage, then? Pause the video and have a reread, and you can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

What he says here: "I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.

." And actually, Peter is linked to the word "petros," which means "rock." "And I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven." So Jesus says he'll build his Church on Peter and give him the keys to the kingdom of heaven.

So something very important is gonna come from Peter as his disciple.

As Jesus appoints Peter, and then Peter appoints the next leader, and that person appoints the next leader, some Christian churches trace their leadership back to this moment, and this is known as apostolic succession, 'cause the disciples were known as apostles after the ascension of Jesus back to heaven.

So the Roman Catholic Pope is linked to Peter in this way.

But other Christian denominations do not have this belief.

So I've got here as an example John, who's a Quaker Christian, and Asher, who's a free church Christian.

So not all denominations have this sense of those traditions being passed down in that way.

And John says, "I'm a Quaker Christian.

We don't have any church leaders or an overall leader for our denomination.

The Bible tells me we're all made in the image of God and we all have that sacred inner light of God within us." So there's nobody particularly leading the service or the denomination as a whole for John, as a Quaker.

Asher, who goes to a free church, says, "I go to a free church, and we base our beliefs and practises on the Bible rather than on church traditions.

I believe it was Peter's faith Jesus was building his church on, so I strive to have the same faith in Jesus that Peter had." So the same passages there for Asher within the Bible, and he believes in the Bible, but he doesn't interpret it in the same way as perhaps the Roman Catholic Church may do too.

So we can see that between different denominations, the same text may be there, but it's interpreted in different ways.

Let's do a quick check before we move on.

Which disciple did Jesus say he would build his Church on? Pause the video and have a go.

We'll see what you come up with in a moment.

Well done.

It was Peter.

Let's do another practise task to see what we've learned.

You're gonna complete the table by developing each point about church traditions and the Bible in different denominations.

And the three denominations are: Roman Catholic, Quaker, and free church.

The point is: Roman Catholic, church tradition is important as well as the Bible.

Quaker, there's no leader of the church community.

Free church, the Bible is the most important source of authority.

For each of them, you are going to develop the point.

Pause the video and have a go.

We'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done, some good thinking there.

So I asked you to complete the table with a development about each of the different denominations, and you could have said: The Roman Catholic Church: Church tradition is important as well as the Bible.

This denomination traces the authority of the pope back to Peter, Jesus' disciple.

The Quaker Church: There's no leader in the church community.

This denomination teaches that everyone has the light of God within them.

And the free church: The Bible is the most important source of authority.

This denomination places more emphasis on the words of the Bible than on church traditions.

Well done.

So on to our third and final section, then: diversity of beliefs and practises.

So the word "Christian" comes from Greek.

So if we're trying to understand what it means to be Christian and what all Christians might have in common, we can look at the word itself to understand this.

And we've got "Christ-ian." And the word "Christ" comes from "Christos," meaning "the anointed one," and it's from the Hebrew term for "Messiah." So Christos, the idea that there's a figure who is a Messiah or an "anointed one" who's going to sort of save humankind.

The central belief for all Christians then is that Jesus is the Christ, or the Messiah for humankind, sent by God to Earth.

And the majority of Christians will believe his birth and resurrection were miraculous and that his death on the cross atoned or made up for human sins.

So this is something we could say that all Christians would believe, that Jesus has this role as the Christ, given that name "Christian," the one who's anointed, who's the Messiah for humankind.

However, there are many things between and within Christian dominations or groups where there is a diversity of beliefs.

For example, the answers to these questions: Is there a hell? Not all Christians necessarily believe there is a physical place that is hell.

Who can be saved by Jesus' death, and how? So yes, most Christians might agree that Jesus died on the cross and that this in some way paid for the sins of humanity and means that he's a Messiah for humans.

But how does that actually work, and who can access that help, and who can be saved by this? Is the Bible the literal word of God? What does it mean to say that the Bible is the word of God? Or is it inspired by God? Is there such a thing as original sin? Are people born sinful or not? Do people carry the sin from Adam and Eve or the tendency to sin because of what Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden? Did they even exist, Adam and Eve? Can women be church leaders? There's a huge diversity between and also within different Christian denominations as to whether women can be church leaders and what that might look like.

Also, could be differences of belief around the role of Mary as Jesus' mother.

Can she intercede for Christians in heaven? Can we pray sort of through her to Jesus, or not? There's a diversity between different Christian denominations on that, too.

Here's just a snapshot.

Remember, we said social sciences say there are thousands of different denominations, and they're gonna have a huge diversity of beliefs and practises.

Here's just a snapshot of some of the things that there would be a diversity of belief around.

So these differences in belief are going to lead to differences in practises, too.

Let's do a quick check before we move on.

Which two of the following beliefs would be held by the majority of Christians across and within denominations? That Jesus was the Christ or Messiah for humankind, that there's a literal hell that some people are punished eternally in, and that Jesus rose from the dead miraculously? Two of these are things that most Christians across different denominations would believe.

Which of those two? Pause the video and have a go.

We'll see what you come up with in a moment.

Well done.

That's A and C.

That Jesus was the Christ or Messiah for humankind, got that clue in the word "Christ" and "Christian," and also that he rose from the dead miraculously.

The majority of Christians would believe that.

However, we couldn't say the majority of Christians believe that there is a literal hell where people are punished eternally.

Well done.

So one example where there's a diversity in practises we could see is in a really important service that happens across most churches involving bread and wine.

Taking bread and wine together is an important Christian practise for the majority of Christian denominations and groups, as Jesus instructed his disciples to "do this in remembrance of me." The different ways that Christian denominations and groups do this, however, is very diverse.

There can be a diversity in the name of the practise, in what bread and wine is consumed, as well as significance of the practise to those taking part.

For example, in the Roman Catholic denomination, the practise is known as Mass or Eucharist and will involve one cup of wine being shared through the congregation, offered by the priest to each person, and one wafer being given to each person.

The bread and wine will have special prayers said, which Roman Catholic tradition then states miraculously becomes the body and blood of Jesus.

In Protestant traditions, for example, the Church of England, the practise may be known as Communion, and it's not believed the bread or wine literally become the body and blood of Jesus, but they are a very powerful symbol.

Other denominations may refer to the practise as the Lord's Supper, or even simply "breaking bread." In the Baptist denomination, there will often be a small cup of wine or juice handed to each person and a small amount of bread, so that all the congregation can complete it at the same time.

In the Quaker Church, it's taught that God is present everywhere and in everything all the time, so taking the bread and wine is not generally practised at all.

And again, that is just a snapshot of some of the diversity we have around this really important practise that Jesus instructed his followers to do.

But it's done in very different ways and has even different names, different things that are consumed.

So let's think about how and when Jesus gave this instruction to the disciples then.

Luke records in his Gospel, which is in the Bible, when this instruction was given.

And it says, "And he took bread, and when he'd given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body, which is given for you.

Do this in remembrance of me.

' And likewise the cup, after they'd eaten, saying, 'This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

'" So what did Jesus instruct his disciples to do then? Well, Jesus instructs them to break bread and give thanks, and drink wine.

And the symbolism this had is that it's his body and his blood.

Let's do a quick check before we move on.

Which image is showing Christians following the instruction to "do this in remembrance of me" from Jesus at the Last Supper? Is it A, B, or C? Pause the video and have a go.

We'll see what you come up with in a moment.

Well done.

It's C here.

Let's join the practise task to see what we've learned.

Aisha is explaining how there's a diversity of beliefs and practise in Christianity, but she's made five mistakes.

You're going to rewrite her explanation and correct the mistakes.

And she says: "We can say that all Christians believe that Mary was sent by God to save humankind.

We can also say the majority of Christians' belief his birth and resurrection was symbolic.

There are also differences in beliefs and practises between Christians.

For example, who is and how people are saved, and if the Bible is real.

Most Christians remember this through a practise with cake and wine, but the way they do this can be very similar." So Aisha's made five mistakes.

Find the mistakes, correct them, and rewrite the paragraph.

Pause the video, and off you go.

Well done.

Did you spot Aisha's five mistakes? Your explanation should look something like this: "We can say that all Christians believe that Jesus was sent by God to save humankind.

We can also say the majority of Christians believe his birth and resurrection were miraculous.

There are also differences in beliefs and practises between Christians, for example, in who is and how people are saved, and if the Bible is literally true.

Most Christians remember this through a practise with bread and wine, but the way they do this can be very diverse." Well done.

So let's summarise everything we've learned today, then, exploring Christians' diversity and complexity.

Census data shows a decline in overall Christian affiliation in England and Wales, but growth in specific denominations like Roman Catholic and Pentecostal churches.

Christianity is diverse, but Christians share some core beliefs, but interpreting sources of authority like the Bible and church tradition differently.

The practise of consuming bread and wine together is common among Christians but carried out in different ways with different names and meanings, e.

g.

, Eucharist and Lord's Supper.

So well done for your hard work today, my young scholars of religion, and I hope to see you again soon.

Bye-bye!.