Religion in York
Encyclopedia
Religion in York can be traced back to the City's foundation in Roman times
with evidence of York
's first Christian
community dating from this period.
beliefs of the people of Eboracum
have been found including altar
s to Mars
, Hercules
, Jupiter
and Fortune
, while phallic amulets are the most commonly found type of good luck charm. In terms of number of reference the most popular deities
were the spiritual representation (genius
) of Eboracum and the Mother Goddess
, there is also evidence of local or regional deities. Evidence showing the worship of eastern deities has also been found during excavations in York. For example evidence of the Mithras cult, which was popular among the military, has been found including a sculpture showing Mithras slaying a bull and a dedication to Arimanius, the god of evil in the Mithraic tradition. Another example is the dedication of a temple to Serapis
a Hellenistic-Egyptian
God by the Commander of the Sixth Legion
.
community in Eboracum although it is unknown when this was first formed and in archeological terms there is virtually no record of it. The first evidence of this community is a document noting the attendance of Bishop Eborius of Eboracum at the Council of Arles in 314. The Episcopal see
at Eboracum was called Eboracensis in Latin and Bishops from the See also attended the First Council of Nicaea
in 325, the Council of Sardica, and the Council of Ariminum.
of townsfolk forced the Jews in York to flee into Clifford's Tower
, which was under the control of the sheriff. The castle was set on fire and the Jews were massacred. It is likely that various local magnates who were debtors of the Jews helped instigate this massacre or, at least, did nothing to prevent it. It came during a time of widespread attacks against Jews in Britain. The Jewish community in York did recover after the massacre and a Jewish presence remained in York until the expulsion
of Jews from England took place in 1290.
In the intervening years, though, the pressure on the Jews of Yorkshire increased, especially by those who were in hock to them. A deed of 1249, for instance, between the Anglo-Norman
Hamond de Levet (Levett
) and several donors to Yorkshire's Roche Abbey
, required the donors to put the "Hebrew letter with their seal," acknowledging that the Abbey had likely borrowed money from Jewish lenders in York.
, York Minster
, and administrative centre of the Church of England
's Diocese of York
, as well as Bishopthorpe Palace
the official residence of the Archbishop of York
the second highest ranking cleric the Church. There are 32 Church of England churches within the area of the City of York
and has eight Roman Catholic Churches and one separate shrine to St. Margaret Clitherow
, where masses are held, located in The Shambles. The oldest active parish is that of St. Wilfrid which was formed in 1710. The current church at High Petergate was built in 1862-4 to a design by architect George Goldie
.
of the Religious Society of Friends in York although meetings are held at other venues including The Retreat and University of York
.
York has a long association with the Religious Society of Friends
, known as the Quakers, and founded two schools in the city Bootham School
in 1823 and The Mount
in 1831. The Retreat
is a large Quaker mental hospital, situated in the east of the city outside the city walls. It was founded in 1796 by William Tuke
; over the next century his son Henry Tuke
, grandson Samuel Tuke and great-grandson Daniel Hack Tuke also devoted themselves to mental health reform, continuing to reform The Retreat
and publishing a number of works on the subject. The York-born Quaker chocolate entrepreneurs and social reformers Joseph Rowntree
and Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree
left an indelible mark on the city, through both their business interests and their philanthropy. They built the village of New Earswick to provide quality affordable housing for their employees, contributed to the building of York Public Library and the created Rowntree Park
. The four Rowntree Trusts, funded from the Rowntree legacies, are based in York.
Elmfield College
(1864–1932) was an important Primitive Methodist college, in Heworth
, near York.
in York which also contains a UK Islamic Mission Islamic centre. In 2007 after armed police were put on patrol in York as a response to terrorist threats Professor Mohamed El-Gomati, of York Mosque, commented that "People are trying to change our way of life - everybody's way of life, not just a white person's or a brown person's . . . We are all in this together. I am happy to say to extremists, of which thankfully we don't have any in York, that what they are doing is wrong, is non-Islamic."
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
with evidence of York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
's first Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
community dating from this period.
Polytheism
A range of evidence about Roman religiousReligion in ancient Rome
Religion in ancient Rome encompassed the religious beliefs and cult practices regarded by the Romans as indigenous and central to their identity as a people, as well as the various and many cults imported from other peoples brought under Roman rule. Romans thus offered cult to innumerable deities...
beliefs of the people of Eboracum
Eboracum
Eboracum was a fort and city in Roman Britain. The settlement evolved into York, located in North Yorkshire, England.-Etymology:The first known recorded mention of Eboracum by name is dated circa 95-104 AD and is an address containing the Latin form of the settlement's name, "Eburaci", on a wooden...
have been found including altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
s to Mars
Mars (mythology)
Mars was the Roman god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was second in importance only to Jupiter, and he was the most prominent of the military gods worshipped by the Roman legions...
, Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
, Jupiter
Jupiter (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Jupiter or Jove is the king of the gods, and the god of the sky and thunder. He is the equivalent of Zeus in the Greek pantheon....
and Fortune
Fortuna
Fortuna can mean:*Fortuna, the Roman goddess of luck -Geographical:*19 Fortuna, asteroid*Fortuna, California, town located on the north coast of California*Fortuna, United States Virgin Islands...
, while phallic amulets are the most commonly found type of good luck charm. In terms of number of reference the most popular deities
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
were the spiritual representation (genius
Genius (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion, the genius was the individual instance of a general divine nature that is present in every individual person, place or thing.-Nature of the genius:...
) of Eboracum and the Mother Goddess
Mother goddess
Mother goddess is a term used to refer to a goddess who represents motherhood, fertility, creation or embodies the bounty of the Earth. When equated with the Earth or the natural world such goddesses are sometimes referred to as Mother Earth or as the Earth Mother.Many different goddesses have...
, there is also evidence of local or regional deities. Evidence showing the worship of eastern deities has also been found during excavations in York. For example evidence of the Mithras cult, which was popular among the military, has been found including a sculpture showing Mithras slaying a bull and a dedication to Arimanius, the god of evil in the Mithraic tradition. Another example is the dedication of a temple to Serapis
Serapis
Serapis or Sarapis is a Graeco-Egyptian name of God. Serapis was devised during the 3rd century BC on the orders of Ptolemy I of Egypt as a means to unify the Greeks and Egyptians in his realm. The god was depicted as Greek in appearance, but with Egyptian trappings, and combined iconography...
a Hellenistic-Egyptian
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
God by the Commander of the Sixth Legion
Legio VI Victrix
Legio sexta Victrix was a Roman legion founded by Octavian in 41 BC. It was the twin legion of VI Ferrata and perhaps held veterans of that legion, and some soldiers kept to the traditions of the Caesarian legion....
.
Christianity
There was also a ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
community in Eboracum although it is unknown when this was first formed and in archeological terms there is virtually no record of it. The first evidence of this community is a document noting the attendance of Bishop Eborius of Eboracum at the Council of Arles in 314. The Episcopal see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
at Eboracum was called Eboracensis in Latin and Bishops from the See also attended the First Council of Nicaea
First Council of Nicaea
The First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325...
in 325, the Council of Sardica, and the Council of Ariminum.
Judaism
On March 16, 1190, a mobCrowd
A crowd is a large and definable group of people, while "the crowd" is referred to as the so-called lower orders of people in general...
of townsfolk forced the Jews in York to flee into Clifford's Tower
York Castle
York Castle in the city of York, England, is a fortified complex comprising, over the last nine centuries, a sequence of castles, prisons, law courts and other buildings on the south side of the River Foss. The now-ruinous keep of the medieval Norman castle is sometimes referred to as Clifford's...
, which was under the control of the sheriff. The castle was set on fire and the Jews were massacred. It is likely that various local magnates who were debtors of the Jews helped instigate this massacre or, at least, did nothing to prevent it. It came during a time of widespread attacks against Jews in Britain. The Jewish community in York did recover after the massacre and a Jewish presence remained in York until the expulsion
Edict of Expulsion
In 1290, King Edward I issued an edict expelling all Jews from England. Lasting for the rest of the Middle Ages, it would be over 350 years until it was formally overturned in 1656...
of Jews from England took place in 1290.
In the intervening years, though, the pressure on the Jews of Yorkshire increased, especially by those who were in hock to them. A deed of 1249, for instance, between the Anglo-Norman
Anglo-Norman
The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the Norman conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066. A small number of Normans were already settled in England prior to the conquest...
Hamond de Levet (Levett
Levett
Levett is an Anglo-Norman territorial surname deriving from the village of Livet-en-Ouche, now Jonquerets-de-Livet, in Eure, Normandy. Ancestors of the earliest Levett family in England, the de Livets were lords of the village of Livet, and undertenants of the de Ferrers, among the most powerful of...
) and several donors to Yorkshire's Roche Abbey
Roche Abbey
Roche Abbey is a now-ruined abbey located near Maltby, South Yorkshire, England. It is situated in a valley alongside Maltby Beck and King's Wood.-Early history:...
, required the donors to put the "Hebrew letter with their seal," acknowledging that the Abbey had likely borrowed money from Jewish lenders in York.
Modern
| Religion in York 2001 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| UK Census 2001 United Kingdom Census 2001 A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194.... |
York | Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform... |
England |
| Christian | 74.42% | 73.07 | 71.74% |
| No religion | 16.57% | 14.09% | 14.59% |
| Muslim | 0.58% | 3.81% | 3.1% |
| Buddhist | 0.21% | 0.14% | 0.28% |
| Hindu | 0.19% | 0.32% | 1.11% |
| Jewish | 0.11% | 0.23% | 0.52% |
| Sikh | 0.05% | 0.38% | 0.67% |
| Other religions | 0.30% | 0.19% | 0.29% |
| Religion not stated | 7.57% | 7.77% | 7.69% |
Church of England
Located in York are the Mother ChurchMother Church
In Christianity, the term mother church or Mother Church may have one of the following meanings:# The first mission church in an area, or a pioneer cathedral# A basilica or cathedral# The main chapel of a province of a religious order...
, York Minster
York Minster
York Minster is a Gothic cathedral in York, England and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe alongside Cologne Cathedral. The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the cathedral for the Diocese of York; it is run by...
, and administrative centre of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
's Diocese of York
Diocese of York
The Diocese of York is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. It covers the city of York, the eastern part of North Yorkshire, and most of the East Riding of Yorkshire....
, as well as Bishopthorpe Palace
Bishopthorpe Palace
Bishopthorpe Palace is a stately home and historic house at Bishopthorpe south of York in the City of York unitary authority and ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England...
the official residence of the Archbishop of York
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
the second highest ranking cleric the Church. There are 32 Church of England churches within the area of the City of York
Roman Catholic
York is part of the Central Vicariate of the Diocese of MiddlesbroughRoman Catholic Diocese of Middlesbrough
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Middlesbrough is a Latin Rite Roman Catholic diocese based in Middlesbrough, England and is part of the province of Liverpool. It was founded on 20 December 1878, with the splitting of the Diocese of Beverley which had covered all of Yorkshire...
and has eight Roman Catholic Churches and one separate shrine to St. Margaret Clitherow
Margaret Clitherow
Saint Margaret Clitherow is an English saint and martyr of the Roman Catholic Church. She is sometimes called "the Pearl of York".-Life:...
, where masses are held, located in The Shambles. The oldest active parish is that of St. Wilfrid which was formed in 1710. The current church at High Petergate was built in 1862-4 to a design by architect George Goldie
George Goldie (architect)
George Goldie was a nineteenth century ecclesiastical architect who specialised in Roman Catholic churches.Goldie was born in York and was the grandson of the architect Joseph Bonomi the Elder...
.
Religious Society of Friends
There are three meeting housesFriends meeting house
A Friends meeting house is a meeting house of the Religious Society of Friends , where meeting for worship may be held.-History:Quakers do not believe that meeting for worship should take place in any special place. They believe that "where two or three meet together in my name, I am there among...
of the Religious Society of Friends in York although meetings are held at other venues including The Retreat and University of York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
.
York has a long association with the Religious Society of Friends
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
, known as the Quakers, and founded two schools in the city Bootham School
Bootham School
Bootham School is an independent Quaker boarding school in the city of York in North Yorkshire, England. It was founded by the Religious Society of Friends in 1823. It is close to York Minster. The current headmaster is Jonathan Taylor. The school's motto Membra Sumus Corporis Magni means "We...
in 1823 and The Mount
The Mount School, York
The Mount School is a Quaker independent day and boarding school in York, England, for girls aged 11–18. It was founded in 1831. Its preparatory school is called Tregelles, and it accepts only girls from 2012 onwards and has a nursery department. There are two or three forms in Year 7 to 11 and...
in 1831. The Retreat
The Retreat
The Retreat, commonly known as the York Retreat, is a place in England for the treatment of people with mental health needs. Located in Lamel Hill in York, it operates as a not for profit charitable organisation....
is a large Quaker mental hospital, situated in the east of the city outside the city walls. It was founded in 1796 by William Tuke
William Tuke
William Tuke was an English businessman, philanthropist and Quaker. He was instrumental in the development of more humane methods in the custody and care of people with mental disorders, an approach that came to be known as moral treatment.-Career:Tuke was born in York to a leading Quaker family...
; over the next century his son Henry Tuke
Henry Tuke
Henry Tuke co-operated with his father in the reforms at the Retreat asylum in York, England.He was the author of several moral and theological treatises which have been translated into German and French.-Historic ship:...
, grandson Samuel Tuke and great-grandson Daniel Hack Tuke also devoted themselves to mental health reform, continuing to reform The Retreat
The Retreat
The Retreat, commonly known as the York Retreat, is a place in England for the treatment of people with mental health needs. Located in Lamel Hill in York, it operates as a not for profit charitable organisation....
and publishing a number of works on the subject. The York-born Quaker chocolate entrepreneurs and social reformers Joseph Rowntree
Joseph Rowntree (philanthropist)
Joseph Rowntree was a Quaker philanthropist and businessman from York, England. Rowntree is perhaps best known for being a champion of social reform and his time as a chocolatier at family business Rowntree's, one of the most important in Britain...
and Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree
Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree
Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree, CH, often known simply as Seebohm Rowntree was a British sociological researcher, social reformer and industrialist.-Life:...
left an indelible mark on the city, through both their business interests and their philanthropy. They built the village of New Earswick to provide quality affordable housing for their employees, contributed to the building of York Public Library and the created Rowntree Park
Rowntree Park
Rowntree Park is a park in York, England open to the public, featuring children's playgrounds, tennis courts, bowling greens, basketball court, skateboarding area and general areas for picnicking...
. The four Rowntree Trusts, funded from the Rowntree legacies, are based in York.
Methodists
The York North and York South circuits of The Methodist Church York and Hull District operate in York.Elmfield College
Elmfield College
Elmfield College, York , originally called "Connexional College" or "Jubilee College" in honour of the Primitive Methodist Silver Jubilee in 1860, was a Primitive Methodist college on the outskirts of Heworth, York, England, near Monk Stray.-Primitive Methodism in York:The college was a national...
(1864–1932) was an important Primitive Methodist college, in Heworth
Heworth, York
Heworth is part of the city of York in North Yorkshire, England, about north-east of the centre. It is sometimes referred to as Heworth Village...
, near York.
Islam
There is one MosqueMosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
in York which also contains a UK Islamic Mission Islamic centre. In 2007 after armed police were put on patrol in York as a response to terrorist threats Professor Mohamed El-Gomati, of York Mosque, commented that "People are trying to change our way of life - everybody's way of life, not just a white person's or a brown person's . . . We are all in this together. I am happy to say to extremists, of which thankfully we don't have any in York, that what they are doing is wrong, is non-Islamic."