Religion in Jersey
Encyclopedia
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
in Jersey has a complex history and much diversity, considering the size of the island.
Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
is a traditionally Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
island. 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...
is the established church
State religion
A state religion is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state...
, but Methodism
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
is traditionally strong in the countryside and there is a large Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
minority.
Before Christianity
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
period religious activity in the settled communities is marked by the building of ritual burial sites known as dolmen
Dolmen
A dolmen—also known as a portal tomb, portal grave, dolmain , cromlech , anta , Hünengrab/Hünenbett , Adamra , Ispun , Hunebed , dös , goindol or quoit—is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of...
s, from which food and personal items such as jewelry, spindle whorls, pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
, tools and animal bones have been excavated at La Hougue Bie (a ritual site used around 3500 BC
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
). These finds indicate that Neolithic settlers possibly believed in an afterlife
Afterlife
The afterlife is the belief that a part of, or essence of, or soul of an individual, which carries with it and confers personal identity, survives the death of the body of this world and this lifetime, by natural or supernatural means, in contrast to the belief in eternal...
much like many modern religions, the burial of the dead with their belongings showing similarities to the burial process in the Egyptian religion
Egyptian mythology
Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals which were an integral part of ancient Egyptian society. It centered on the Egyptians' interaction with a multitude of deities who were believed to be present in, and in control of, the forces and elements of nature...
. However recent excavations at La Hougue Bie
La Hougue Bie
La Hougue Bie is a historic site in the Parish of Grouville, Jersey. Hougue is a Jèrriais/Norman language word meaning a "mound" and comes from the Old Norse word haugr. Bie is of uncertain origin...
by archaeologist Mark Patton, together with consideration of solar alignments, suggest that the Jersey Dolmens
Jersey Dolmens
The dolmens of Jersey are neolithic sites, including dolmens, in Jersey. They range over a wide period, from around 4800 BC to 2250 BC, these dates covering the periods roughly designated as Neolithic, or “new stone age”, to Chalcolithic, or “copper age”....
functioned more as centres of worship like cathedrals or churches, where burials are incidental to the main function.
Celtic Christianity
There is some evidence from parish names of Celtic missions to the islands, notably Saint BreladeBrelade
Branwalator or Breward, also referred to as Branwalader, was a British saint saint whose relics lay at Milton Abbas in Dorset and Branscombe in Devon. Believed to come from Brittany, he also gives his name to the parish of Saint Brélade, Jersey. "Brelade" is a corruption of "Branwalader"...
in Jersey and Saint Samson in Guernsey. Apart from place names and one note in the Life of Samson no documentary evidence is available.
Roman Catholicism
Helier
Saint Helier, a 6th century ascetic hermit, is patron saint of Jersey in the Channel Islands, and in particular of the town and parish of Saint Helier, the island’s capital...
, who was to become Jersey's patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
, went to the island bringing the gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
.
The island of Jersey remained part of the Duchy of Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
until 1204 when King Philip II Augustus of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
conquered the duchy from King John of England
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
. The islands remained in the personal possession of the king and were described as being a Peculiar of the Crown. However, the island continued to be part of the Norman diocese of Coutances and was reluctant to come under the wing of the English church because it had many cultural ties with Normandy.
The island embraced the French Calvinist form of Protestantism
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
during the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
and orders were received to remove all signs of Catholicism in 1547. In 1550 and 1551 church property was sold for the benefit of the crown. The island remained under the diocese of Coutances until 1569.
There were several waves of Roman Catholic immigration, notably in the 1790s during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, in the 1830s and 1840s with the influx of Irish labourers and towards the end of the 19th century with the settlement of Catholic religious order
Religious order
A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...
s.
Protestantism
French Calvinism
Islanders embraced Calvinism during the Reformation, especially under the influence of French language pamphlets and books from Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
.
The reign of Queen Mary
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
was especially significant. Important Protestant religious leaders in Jersey and Guernsey fled to Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, and when they returned after Mary's death, they had taken on much of the severe form of Calvinism formulated there by Calvin, and set up Consistory Court
Consistory court
The consistory court is a type of ecclesiastical court, especially within the Church of England. They were established by a charter of King William I of England, and still exist today, although since about the middle of the 19th century consistory courts have lost much of their subject-matter...
s. Another factor was a reaction against the burning of heretics in the islands. In neighbouring Guernsey, Foxe records the remarkable death of the Protestant Perotine Massey, who gave birth while being burnt at the stake. Her newborn child was returned to the flames by the Catholic Bailiff.
There also was a sudden influx from France of Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
s — the name given to French Calvinists — as Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
revoked the Edict of Nantes
Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes, issued on 13 April 1598, by Henry IV of France, granted the Calvinist Protestants of France substantial rights in a nation still considered essentially Catholic. In the Edict, Henry aimed primarily to promote civil unity...
in 1685, effectively depriving them of the freedom to practice their religion..
The style of worship was resolutely Calvinist. Queen Elizabeth I left Jersey and Guernsey more or less in charge of their own affairs, because of political expedience: Protestant islanders would be in opposition to Catholic France.
Church of England
Although Jersey was transferred to the Diocese of Winchester
Diocese of Winchester
The Diocese of Winchester forms part of the Province of Canterbury of the Church of England.Founded in 676, it is one of the oldest and largest of the dioceses in England.The area of the diocese incorporates:...
in 1569, it was not until the Governorship of Sir John Peyton in 1603, under James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
, that the forms of the Anglican church were restored to Jersey. In 1620 David Bandinel was appointed the first Dean of Jersey
Dean of Jersey
The Dean of Jersey is the leader of the Church of England in Jersey. He is ex officio a member of the States of Jersey, although since the constitutional reforms of 1948 the Dean may not take part in parliamentary votes...
since the Reformation. Anglicanism then became and remained the official religion of the island.
Methodism
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
s were drawn to the ideas of Methodism similar to those of Calvinism.
Conflict with the authorities ensued when men refused to attend Militia drill when that coincided with chapel meetings. The Royal Court attempted to proscribe Methodist meetings, but King George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
refused to countenance such interference with liberty of religion. The first Methodist minister in Jersey was appointed in 1783, and John Wesley
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
preached in Jersey in August 1789, his words being interpreted into the vernacular for the benefit of those from the country parishes. The first building constructed specifically for Methodist worship was erected in Saint Ouen
Saint Ouen, Jersey
-Cueillettes:Unlike the other parishes of Jersey, the subdivisions of this parish are not named vingtaines, but cueillettes . Vingteniers are still elected, however, in the cueillettes.*La Petite Cueillette*La Grande Cueillette...
in 1809.
Religion in Jersey today
In addition to the Church of EnglandChurch 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...
(25 churches), the Roman Catholic Church (eight churches) and Methodism (sixteen churches), Jersey is host to the Abundant Life Church (one church), Baptists (one church), Plymouth Brethren
Plymouth Brethren
The Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...
(one assembly), Spiritual Christianity
Spiritual Christianity
Spiritual Christianity is a type of religious thought among the sectarianism of Russian Orthodoxy, with followers called spiritual Christians ....
(one church), Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...
(one church), the Greek Orthodox Church (one church), Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
(two churches), Latter-day Saints (one chapel), Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
(one church and an independent chapel), the Society of Friends (Quakers)
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...
(one meeting room), Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
(one church), the United Reformed Church
United Reformed Church
The United Reformed Church is a Christian church in the United Kingdom. It has approximately 68,000 members in 1,500 congregations with some 700 ministers.-Origins and history:...
(one church), members of the Bahá'í Faith
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
, Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
(one synagogue), Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
(one community centre) and various Pagans and Wiccans
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
.
Islam
There are some 400 Muslims in Jersey who currently pray at Saint Thomas's Community Centre but are attempting to raise £500,000 for a 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...
.
Notable places of worship
- Parish Church of St HelierParish Church of St HelierThe Parish Church of St Helier is the parish church of the parish of Saint Helier, Jersey. It is one of the twelve 'Ancient Parish Churches' of Jersey, and serves as the Island's civic church and Pro-Cathedral.-Dedication:...
- Fisherman's ChapelFisherman's ChapelThe Fisherman's Chapel is a small chapel located beside St Brelade's Church in St Brelade, Jersey, by the shore at the western end of St Brelade's Bay.-History:...
- Grouville ChurchGrouville ChurchGrouville Church is one of the twelve ancient parish churches in the island of Jersey; it is sited on the east of the island in the parish of Grouville.- Name :...
- St Brelade's ChurchSt Brelade's ChurchSt Brelade's Church is one of the twelve ancient parish churches in the island of Jersey; it is sited on the west of the island in the parish of St Brelade, in the south-west corner of St Brelade's Bay...
- St Aubin on the Hill
- Balleine's History of Jersey, Marguerite Syvret and Joan Stevens (1998) ISBN 1-86077-065-7
- Jersey in Prehistory, Mark Patton, 1987
- The Channel Islands under Tudor Government, A.J. Eagleston
- Foxe's Book of Martyrs
- Reformation and Society in Guernsey, D.M. Ogier
- International Politics and the Establishment of Presbytarianism in the Channel Islands: The Coutances Connection, C.S.L. Davies
- Religion, History and G.R. Balleine: The Reformation in Jersey, by J. St John Nicolle, The Pilot
- The Reformation in Jersey: The Process of Change over Two centuries, J. St John Nicolle
- A Biographical Dictionary of Jersey, G.R. Balleine
- The Chroniques de Jersey in the light of contemporary documents, BSJ, AJ Eagleston
- The Portrait of Richard Mabon, BSJ, Joan Stevens