England is a constituent country of the United Kingdom located on the island of Great Britain in the north-west of Europe. It is home of the English language currently spoken by perhaps a billion people worldwide, and was the seat of an empire that spanned the globe. England is the largest of the UK's constituent countries, both in terms of area and population. It is also home to the UK's capital and parliament, making this area politically and economically important to the UK as a whole. This may be part of the reason as to why the entirety of the United Kingdom is erroneously referred to as just England.
Prior to the Romans, the Celts largely inhabited what would become England. From 43 AD, the Romans invaded Britain and took control of the southern half of the islands, where they founded the fort of Londinium, which later became London.
As the Roman Empire abandoned Britain in AD410, nearby Germanic tribes, specifically the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, began to settle over the majority of the island. Kingdoms formed, such as Northumbria (Anglian) in the north east, Wessex (named after the West Saxons) in the south west and Kent (probably settled by Jutes, and now the name of a county) in the south east. The home nations of Wales and Scotland, and the South West England county of Cornwall continued to be independent Celtic nations for some time after this. The Germanic invaders were still pagans when they conquered part of Britain (e.g. Penda of Mercia was (allegedly) the last pagan King). The English peoples were converted to Christianity, however, in the 7th Century AD. This happened from two directions: the mission of St. Augustine, emissary of Gregory the Great came initially to Kent, while the (successful) mission to the Northumbrian Angles (and from there to peoples further south) was from the Celtic Church based in northern British monasteries such as Iona and Lindisfarne. The entire British Isles later came under the sway of Roman Catholicism as the powerful Northumbrian King, Oswy, chose in favour of Roman practice in AD 664 ('Synod of Whitby').
Later, in 1066 AD, the Norman French Duke William the Conqueror defeated the last Anglo-Saxon King, Harold Godwinson. William established himself as king of England, and the Monarchy continued until the crowning of Stephen of Blois. However, Empress Matilda, with aid of relations and riots going around England caused the signing of the Treaty of Wallingford, where King Henry II became heir of England. The House of Plantagenet (the royal family at the time), dynastically inherited a number of French duchies and lands, including Normandy, Aquitaine, Anjou and Gascony. This became known as the Angevin Empire.
Amongst the privileged elite French language and customs became a part of English culture, however for the most part the common population continued to use their own language and customs. William retained significant territories on mainland Europe, in what is now France. For many hundreds of years England fought a series of wars (including the Hundred Years War) for possession of northern France. These did not end until 1588 with the loss of Calais. The Channel Islands are still a crown dependency to this day.
On the basis of their territories in England and France the Norman monarchs became influential in Europe. In 1215, rebellious nobles forced King John to sign the Magna Carta, essentially a charter guaranteeing the rights of the king's subject nobles and the church, and setting forward the precedent that the monarch's powers were bound by law. In 1455-1487 a series of conflicts called the Wars of the Roses were fought between the noble families of York and Lancaster for control of the throne.
After the Wars of the Roses had been won by Henry of Lancaster, the reign of the Tudors began. Henry VII, as he became, was more concerned with defending his crown and so concentrated mainly on domestic policies. While Henry VII is one of England's less famous kings he was one of the few monarchs ever to leave the crown solvent upon his death. Henry VIII, unlike his father, was obsessed with winning glory on the battlefield, preferably in France. Henry launched three major wars throughout his reign against France and in the process managed to capture the city of Boulogne as well as two minor towns, however all of these we're lost or returned by the end of Edwards VI reign. However Henry is most famous for his split with Rome, where he created the Protestant Church of England. When the current Pope refused to allow him to annul his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Henry passed the Statute of Restraint of appeals, declared himself head of the English Church and decreed that the Pope had no power over England. During his reign Henry had six wives, of which only three bore him children. Of these, only one was a son—a sickly child who reigned as Edward VI for just six years after his father's death. His daughter Elizabeth, however, was crowned Queen in 1558 and became perhaps England's greatest and best-loved monarch with her reign often being referred to as Englands Golden Age. Elizabeth was queen during some of England's greatest moments of the age, the founding of England's first (if unsuccessful) American colony, the defeat of the Spanish Armarda and solidifying The Church of England's beliefs and acceptance within the nation. Upon her death, the heir to the throne, King James VI of Scotland was crowned King James I, leading to an eventual unification of the two nations.
In 2022, The Economist published the article Britain’s productivity problem is long-standing and getting worse which stated:
“ | The productivity slowdown that followed was global, but Britain’s was particularly dramatic. Between 2009 and 2019 its productivity growth rate was the second slowest in the g7 . A study by Nick Crafts at the University of Warwick and Terence Mills of Loughborough University calculated that Britain’s shortfall during this period, compared with the pre-2008 trend, was the worst in 250 years...
Catching up with America’s level of labour productivity would mean that Britain’s gdp per person would be £6,600 higher, for example. And even if it is hard to pin down the exact sources of the productivity slowdown in the 2010s, it is easier to identify areas where Britain has to do better in future. They fall into three big categories: investment, people and the spread of knowledge."[1] |
” |
Liz Truss, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, was caught on audio tape indicating that British workers lacked the "skill and application" of foreign nationals.[4] In response, the BBC published the news article Liz Truss accused of branding British workers lazy in leaked audio[5]
In 2022, The Economist published the article Britain’s productivity problem is long-standing and getting worse. Evidently, many godless, slothful Brits are reluctant to upgrade their skills to meet the current demands of the marketplace or they are too broke or lazy to implement productivity-producing technology. I mention poverty in relation to a lack of investment in productivity-improving technology because lazy people are often broke!
The Economist states: "But even if the frontier is slowing, there is no iron law that says Britain cannot move closer to it. Catching up with America’s level of labour productivity would mean that Britain’s gdp per person would be £6,600 higher, for example. And even if it is hard to pin down the exact sources of the productivity slowdown in the 2010s, it is easier to identify areas where Britain has to do better in future. They fall into three big categories: investment, people and the spread of knowledge."[6]
In 1533 AD King Henry VIII formed the Church of England (CoE) after the pope refused to annul the marriage between the king and Catherine of Aragon; while originally the CoE followed a policy of Catholic without the pope, his successors Edward VI and Elizabeth I moved the church in a far more Protestant direction. Henry established himself as the head of the church and made it the state religion of England. This situation continues to this day, although in much modified form. The queen is still the nominal head of the church, although purely as a figurehead. Decisions technically taken by the queen are in fact done only on the advice of her ministers, who in matters of the church invariably act on the advice of the church leaders. Until recently certain bishops of the Church of England were automatically given seats in the House of Lords. The Church of England is closely involved with the ceremonies associated with England, for example at coronations or royal weddings and funerals.
Since the Reformation the country has remained primarily Anglican with the notable exception of the Catholic reigns of Mary I and James II. More recently, the number of Roman Catholics is poised to overtake the number of Anglicans in the country, a trend that is likely to continue with an influx of migrants from Catholic countries such as Ireland and recent EU accession countries such as Poland[1]. As with the UK as a whole, the significant minority religions include Hinduism, Judaism and Islam.
A 2001 census gave the following figures for religious affiliation: Christianity: 71.6%, Islam: 3.1%, Hindu: 1.1%, Sikh: 0.7%, Jewish: 0.5%, and Buddhist: 0.3%, No Faith: 22.3%. Approximately 7% of responders did not answer the question.[7]
Unlike American schools, state run Comprehensive schools in England have a daily act of Christian worship, although there have been efforts in recent times to remove this, to reflect the multifaith make-up of England.[8] There is support for some "faith schools", such as Peter Vardy's Emmanuel Schools Foundation through the Academies program.[9]
See also: British atheism
A Eurobarometer poll in 2010 reported that 37% of UK citizens "believed there is a God", 33% believe there is "some sort of spirit or life force" and 25% answered "I don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force".[10]
In 2014, The Telegraph reported: "The British are among the most sceptical in the world about religion, a global study has found. Just over a third of people in the UK believe religion has a positive role to play in our daily lives, compared to a global average of 59 per cent."[11]
Desecularization is the process by which religion reasserts its societal influence through religious values, institutions, sectors of society and symbols in reaction to previous and/or co-occurring secularization processes.[12]
In December 2018, The Times indicated: "The number of atheists in Britain has fallen in the past year, according to a survey suggesting that more people are attending church, albeit irregularly."[13]
The Guardian published an article in 2017 entitled Nearly 50% are of no religion – but has UK hit ‘peak secular’? which declared:
“ | But, Bullivant told the Observer that the “growth of no religion may have stalled”. After consistent decline, in the past few years the proportion of nones appears to have stabilised. “Younger people tend to be more non-religious, so you’d expect it to keep going – but it hasn’t. The steady growth of non-Christian religions is a contributing factor, but I wonder if everyone who is going to give up their Anglican affiliation has done so by now? We’ve seen a vast shedding of nominal Christianity, and perhaps it’s now down to its hardcore.[14] | ” |
In the United States, the vast majority of individuals who are "Nones"/"no religion" (people who are not part of organized religion) believe in the existence of God. Fewer than 15% of the "nones" consider themselves atheists.[15]
Conatus News reported in 2017:
“ | Church of England worshippers increase 0.8 per cent since 2009. The number of non-religious people falls from 50.65% to 48.6%
Rise in Church of England worshippers likely due to resurgence in patriotism and pride in Christianity, a report has found According to a new report, for every person brought up in a non-religious household who becomes a churchgoer, 26 people raised as Christians now identify as non-believers. The study, which is based on an analysis of the British Social Attitudes Survey and the European Social Survey, reported that the proportion of non-religious in the UK hit a high of 50.6 per cent in 2009. However, it has been decreasing ever since and hit 48.6 per cent in 2015. However, the proportion of those who identify as Church of England worshippers has seen a slight increased from 16.3 per cent in 2009 to 17.1 per cent in 2015.[16] |
” |
See: Future of religion, Christianity and Islam in the UK and Europe
See also: British atheism
The Christian Post reported on July 21, 2019, as far as Britain: "The percentage of respondents who said they were nondenominational Christians increased from 3% of the population in 1998 to 13% in 2018."[19]
In December 2017, the Church Times reported:
“ | In 2016, the Centre for Theology and Community (CTC) published new research on Evangelical church-planting in east London, Love, Sweat and Tears (News, 8 April 2016, Features, 21 April). This confirmed the widely recognised image of Evangelicals as people who like to plant churches, but it also revealed that the way they work is not at all how people often imagine.
All of these Evangelical churches were planted in deprived areas, not suburbs; most of their members were local; one parish was cross-tradition; every parish was reaching people who do not attend church; and all of them were involved in social-action projects that served their local communities.[20] |
” |
Due to religious immigrants, many of whom are evangelical Christians, church attendance in Greater London grew by 16% between 2005 and 2012.[21] In 2013, it was reported that 52% of people who attended church in London attended evangelical churches.[22]
On December 14, 2009, the British newspaper The Telegraph reported:
“ | According to the Mail Evangelical Christianity is on the rise.
Some 4.5million of the UK's foreign-born population claim to have a religious affiliation. Of these, around a quarter are Muslim while more than half are Christian – with Polish Catholics and African Pentecostals among the fastest-growing groups. While traditional churchgoing is on the decline in the UK over the past decade, the latest immigrants mean Christianity is becoming more charismatic and fundamentalist. 'Perhaps the most significant change has been the growth of Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity within migrant populations, particularly those from Africa and Latin America,' the report found. 'In Lewisham, there are 65 Pentecostal churches serving the Nigerian community, and others serving the Congolese, Ghanaian and Ivorian communities.' Professor Mike Kenny of IPPR said: 'The research shows that recent waves of inward migration have given a boost to some of the UK's established faith communities at a time when Britain's society and culture are generally more secular, and smaller numbers of the indigenous population are regularly attending churches. 'Recent migration trends are altering the faith map of the UK. Their biggest impact is being felt in some of our largest cities: London above all, where a rich mosaic of different faith communities has come into being.' Evangelical Christianity might be heavily African-influenced but it’s also spreading among the natives as well.[23] |
” |
See also:
See also: Irreligious Brits fail to stand up to Muslim groomer gangs
A Eurobarometer poll in 2010 reported that 37% of UK citizens "believed there is a God", 33% believe there is "some sort of spirit or life force" and 25% answered "I don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force".[26] See also: British atheism
In 2014, The Telegraph reported: "The British are among the most sceptical in the world about religion, a global study has found. Just over a third of people in the UK believe religion has a positive role to play in our daily lives, compared to a global average of 59 per cent."[27]
I recently years the British irreligious population has behaved in a cowardly manner (See: Atheism and cowardice).
In the latter part of 2022 it was reported that the Islamic population of the UK has increased 44 percent in a decade, according to the latest UK census figures. Of the UK's total population, 6.5 percent — 3.9 million people — are adherents of Islam.[28]
The United States website Homeland Security Digital Library published the article Islamist Terrorism in the UK: An In-Depth Analysis:
“ | On March 7th the Henry Jackson Society, a British think tank, released a report titled, Islamist Terrorism: Analysis of Offenses and Attacks in the UK (1998-2015). As stated by author Hannah Stuart, the purpose of the report is to provide “information and statistical analysis on the manifestation and development of the threat to national security from Islamism-inspired terrorism.” According to the report, there have been 264 convictions of Islamism-inspired terrorism in the UK as a result of arrests made between 1998 and 2015. Interestingly, 72% of these Islamism-related offences (IROs) were committed by UK nationals or individuals holding dual British nationality, with the overwhelming majority being perpetrated by males. However, although their numbers remain small, female involvement in Islamism-inspired terrorism has tripled since 2011, with women accounting for 11% of all IROs occurring between 2011 and 2015. This represents a 175% increase from IROs occurring between 1998 and 2010 involving women.
The report goes on to discuss contemporary developments in terrorism, highlighting that “the expansion of the terrorism threat from that predominantly associated with AQ [al-Qaeda]-linked groups to one driven by IS [Islamic State] has been the key development since the publication of the previous edition of this report in 2011.” As such, the author concludes that terrorism inspired by the Islamic State currently represents the greatest threat to the UK’s national security. A brief overview of AQ is offered, which discusses the evolution of the terrorist group, including the creation and expansion of AQ franchises. Knowledge of this history is necessary to better understand both current trends in Jihadist-inspired terror attacks and the rise of the Islamic State.[29] |
” |
Dr. Peter Hammond's article What Islam Isn't indicates:
“ | When Muslims reach 10% of the population, they will increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions ( Paris --car-burnings). Any non-Muslim action that offends Islam will result in uprisings and threats (Amsterdam - Mohammed cartoons).
After reaching 20% expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings and church and synagogue burning: Ethiopia -- Muslim 32.8%[31] |
” |
See also: Atheism vs. Islam
As noted above, in recent years, the proponents of Western atheism and British atheism/agnosticism have developed a reputation for cowardice and a lack of mental toughness (See: Atheism and cowardice and Atheism and mental toughness).
A UK think tank issued a report in December 2017. Grooming gangs were studied going back to 2005. The report found:"a disproportionate representation of males with (South) ‘Asian’ heritage who have been convicted in such cases, with this ethnicity male perpetrator/white female victim dynamic serving as the prominent feature of these grooming gangs. Most of these men are of Pakistani (Muslim) origin, and the majority of their victims are young, white girls. The report suggests that the background of these men has influenced their actions. The report found that 84% of ‘grooming gang’ offenders were (South) Asian, while they only make up 7% of total UK population.[33]The researchers who compiled the study are both Pakistani Brits. As many as one million British children may have been victims of Muslim grooming gangs. Studies show a Muslim is 170 times more likely to be involved in grooming gangs than a non-Muslim.[34]
When the report was issued, UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid said it was "wrong to ignore ethnicity" of the criminals.[35]
In one UK city alone, 1,400 non-Muslim girls were groomed, raped, trafficked, and drugged between 1997 and 2013 while those in authority failed to act. The police have been accused of ignoring sex abuse claims because of political correctness and fear of accusation of racism, as well as allegedly blaming some child victims.[36] Leftist organizations waged relentless war against anyone who spoke out about Muslim rape gangs. Victims and critics were demonized as "Islamophobic," “hateful” and “bigoted.”[37]
UK police, who turned a blind eye to Pakastani rape culture and blamed victims,[38] have urged the public to report ‘non-crime’ incidents in an effort to stop non-criminal comments from hurting the feelings of those affected. The message sent out by the official Twitter account of South Yorkshire Police said, “In addition to reporting hate crime, please report non-crime hate incidents, which can include things like offensive or insulting comments, online, in person or in writing.”[39] So, while rape and murder of ethnic Brits by Muslim immigrants is ignored, the UK police do have time to investigate non-crimes and harass native citizens.
The sister of a 14-year girl who was murdered by a pimp was convicted of a "racially aggravated assault" for slapping a suspect who stated that he chopped up her body and cooked it into kebabs. The case was tossed out. The police botched the investigation.[40] This is only one such story among hundreds that have gone unreported by global leftist mainstream media. Independent journalist Tommy Robinson has forced the spotlight on the rape jihad occurring in Europe, and has been prosecuted and demonized for doing it.[41]
The leaders of Britain First were jailed for calling attention to Muslim sex-grooming gangs preying on British girls.[42]
Peter McLoughlin, Ph.D. the author of a detailed study of grooming gangs, Easy Meat: Inside Britain's Grooming Gang Scandal (Paperback 2016) concluded that they are the logical outcome of Islamic doctrines. Under Islamic law, the Muslim man commits no sin in making sexual use of non-Muslim females, who may be enslaved or used as concubines. Raping or drugging infidel girls is not a sin in their eyes and age of consent laws do not exist. McLoughlin was banned from Twitter for advertising his book. He is still using an account on GAB.
Tommy Robinson served what was originally a 13-month prison sentence for contempt of court after publishing a Facebook Live video of Pakistani grooming gang defendants entering a law court in defiance of restrictions on reporting ongoing trials.[43] He was illegally arrested on May 26, 2018 for this, and the judge presiding over his case, Geoffrey Marson,[44] illegally ordered all details related to his arrest and trial, including his identity, to be banned from being published by the country's media.[45]
Below are notable UK Muslim child prostitution scandals indicating that a significant portion UK Muslim society has not have embraced secular liberal/leftist ideologies such as feminism which can be found at: Child prostitution in the United Kingdom.
See also: British irreligion, libertinism, undisciplined behavior, lack of mental toughness and cowardice
In 2021, the British newspaper The Times noted that "Britain has most gay parliament in the world".[46]
England is the home of the modern English language, which was later spread to all parts of the world by the British Empire, along with traditional English concepts such as the rule of law, universal suffrage, parliamentary government, the jury system, and freedom of speech.