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Christainity in New England
In New England, Christainity is the now the second largest religion after being the largest religion for over two hundred years. It was eclipsed by Unitarianism in 2046. Today, 25.9% of New Englanders are Christain. The church has been beset by many problems in recent years, and has struggled to gain members and maintain it's traditional relavence.
The church remains divided into a number of denominations, but the main focal point of the church in New England is the Council of Christian Faith, an ecumenical body that is considered political and media mouthpiece for many churches on most issues. Other churches, such as the Catholic Church and some of the more pentecostal groups continue to function outside the council.
Denominations
Christainity is divided into a number of different sects or churches, and some of the larger of these have adherants in New England. The Christain Churches, in orders of size, are:
- Anglican Church of New England (8.6% of national population)
- The Roman Catholic Church in New England (6.3%)
- The United Methodist and Presbyterian Church of New England (3.5%)
- Baptist Union of New England (3.3%)
- Others (4.2%)
Despite their many and varied differences, the churches have often combined to share resources. In several instances, theological arguments dating back centuries have been put aside to preserve the intergrity of the church, and prevent the various congregations vanishing altogether. Such unity has only been possible because of the emergence of the unitarians as a major religion.
Anglican Church of New England - The Anglican Church is the largest Christian denomination in New England. The church has 206,000 members or about 8.6% of the population. The church has played a serious role in the development of the kingdom, and with several First Ministers being Anglicans, including Sir Jonathon Braddock and Sir John Tudor. The current head of the church is the Archbishop of Armidale, the Most Reverend Timothy Charles.
The mother church of the Anglicans is the National Cathedral in Armidale. The original mother church, St Peter's was destroyed during the Second Battle of Armidale in March 2011. The church is divided into four bishoprics, they being Armidale, Grafton, Inverell and Port Macquarie. The Archbishop of Armidale is considered to be the Primate of the Church in New England. The church shares the use of the cathedral with the United Methodist and Presbyterian Church and the Unitarian Church.
Roman Catholic Church in New England - The Catholic Church is the second largest denomination in New England. With 151,000 members, or 6.3% of the population, Catholicism ranks behind Anglicanism, but has more adherents than the United Methodist and Presbyterian Church. The church is not autonomous, and holds to the tenant of papal supremacy. The present Pope, Paul VIII has ruled since 2042. There is one cardinal from New England that sits in the College of Cardinals in Rome, that being the former Archbishop of Armidale, James Lovecrest. The present archbishop is the Most Reverend Patrick Davis.
Locally, the most senior non-cardinal is the Archbishop of Armidale. The mother church of Catholics in New England is the Cathedral of St Mary and St Joseph in Armidale. The present church was built in 1912, replacing an earlier structure from the 1880s. Additional cathedrals have been established in Coffs Harbour, Inverell and Port Macquarie. The boundaries of the bishoprics are identical to those used by the Anglican Church. The independence of New England led to creation of several new dioceses in 2012, with the Diocese of Lismore being split in three (The Diocese of Lismore now includes much of the Gold Coast and Beaudesert shires up to the edges of Brisbane) with new cathedrals being consecrated at Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie in the 2010s.
A number of holy orders related to the church operate in New England. A revival in monastic life among some adherents has led to the creation of several monasteries. The largest of these is the Monastery of St Augustine in Armidale. The monastery replaced the earlier Ursuline Convent that was constructed in the early twentieth century.
United Methodist and Presbyterian Church - The United Methodist and Presbyterian Church of New England or United Church is the third largest denomination in New England with 84,000 members or 3.5% of the population. The church is continuation of the Uniting Church in Australia that was established in 1977. In 2015 and 2029 the church was further consolidated with mergers with the remaining members of the main Presbyterian Church of New England. Smaller Presbyterian groups still remain, but number less than 5,000 people between them. Theologically, the church is highly decentralised, and provides training for ministers and basic support for the various congregations. The direction of the individual congregations is largely left alone, with the church issuing a basic Statement of Faith that all member groups must adhere to. Outside this, the congregations are free to direct themselves as they wish.
The mother church for the United Church is the National Cathedral in Armidale. The original Methodist and Presbyterian churches were destroyed in the Second Battle of Armidale in 2011. The National Cathedral is built on the same site as St Paul's
Baptist Union of New England - The Baptist denomination is led by the Baptist Union of New England. With 79,200 members or 3.3% of the population, Baptists are the forth largest denomination in New England. The current president of the union is the Rev. Rodney Smith. The Baptists remain one of the more conservative elements within the Christian community. They have been quick to criticise lax moral leadership in the nation, and continue to operate a strong missionary system both at home and overseas.
Baptists do not have a mother church, and operate on a highly devolved system of governance. Each parish has full control over its governance. The central union provides training for ministers and basic support for the various congregations. Otherwise, administration is left to the local church ministers and deacons to set the overall direction and teachings in the church.
King Michael was raised a Baptist and remained an active member in the church for many years. During the bloody years of the Civil War, the future king saw the need for a strong system of faith that could be provided by the church. After New England became independent, the King became a Unitarian. He never criticised his former faith, but the church never forgave him for leaving.
Others - Outside the scope of the major denominations, a number of smaller groups exist. Some are split-away groups from one of the larger groups such as the Free Presbyterian Church and the Liberal Catholic Church. While others are smaller groups that have a long and well known history abroad, but for whatever reason have never had many adherents in New England. This includes groups such as the Lutherans and Adventists. Others yet are Pentecostal or fundamentalist groups that are led by a charismatic leadership and often involve a system large scale choreographed worship and literal interpretations of the bible. Many of these groups are small, and have been the source of much criticism from other groups.
Some notable groups include Lutherans (34,000), Seventh Day Adventists (24,500), Jehovah's Witnesses (21,500) and Mormons (12,000).
Membership
Around 740,000 people are recored in the Census as being Christian. Of that number it is estimated that 500,000 attend church at least once a month (the offical indicator of an active participant in the church). The call to faith has been taken up with gusto by the various churches, and despite falling numbers overall, the the number of active members reflects the re-energerisation of belief for many people.
The number of various congrations inside the church mean that the number of physical churches is far higher than any other religion, although this number has fallen too in recent years. Today, there are 1,600 seperate Christian places of worship across New England. Commerical agreements between Christains and Unitarians mean that building and property can be transferred between the two as they needed. Communial interest has taken precedence over finanical gain or pride.
History
The Civil War placed the churches in an awkward position. Most groups saw the need for neutrality, despite the fact that they knew atrocities were being committed. Many Christians however, openly reviled the Australians and gave support and comfort to the Militia. Many ministers and priests preached for open defiance of Australian rule. After the Second Battle of Armidale in 2011, the support was fully sanctioned by local congregation who began to break away from their parent churches and form local organisations. The first splits came with the formation of the Anglican Church of New England in late 2010. The congregations of the Uniting Church in Australia split off to form the United Methodist and Presbyterian Church of New England a few weeks later. The war and the years afterward allowed many Christians to rediscover the messages of charity and care for the poor that had been lost in the consumerisation of the churches in the 1990s and 2000s.
In 2014, in his annual address to the Royal Agricultural and Grazing Society, the King announced that he and his family had converted out of the Baptist Church and become Unitarians. Despite the shock of the announced and the obvious opposition to it, the churches supported the general thrust of his argument, that being the fact that a strong system of faith is essential for an individual to find happiness in their lives. The move forced the churches to consider their positions and the relationship with each other. Ecumenicalism became more of a focus and began to involve the sharing of resources, ministers and money. The churches also began to find different ways they could teach the words of Christ to a population that was sick and tired of scandal, proselytising and abuse. In 2016, the churches established the Council of Christian Faith. One of the first statements the council issued was a rejection of prosperity doctrine.
The 2020s proved to be very hard for Christian groups, as their own numbers fell and the number of Unitarian groups rose very quickly. Many congregations no longer had enough active members to fill the necessary roles to run a weekly service, and as time went by, there simply weren't enough people attending to make worship worth it. Churches shut their doors everywhere. In 2029, the members of the Council of Christian Faith sat down and thrashed out various agreements to share their resources. Obvious ideological and theological differences had to be resolved. The council began to thrash out agreements of dealing with a litany of issues that had dogged Christians everywhere for fifty years.
During the Five Day War, the churches rallied behind the state, but urged peace must come quickly. They opposed the occupation of Australian soli after the war, and were a powerful in convincing the Anglican First Minister John Tudor to withdraw from Australia as soon as possible. Before the pullout came, many church members worked in the Occupied Shires to ensure that social services were being provided to those in need. The war had had a significant effect on the local populations, and so charity became a great source of healing for both sides.
Throughout the 2030s and 2040s the church continued to lose ground, but its leaders did not defer from their message of peace, hope and charity for the people of New England. After 2046, the fall has stabilised considerably, as has sat on or around 25% of the population. In spite of the outbursts in the media between conservative Christians and the Unitarians, the relationship between church and state remains solid. Christians continue to stand and be elected to office across the land. In many rural areas, Christians are still in the majority, and so it is here that many church leaders place their faith in the future of the church for years to come.
Relationship With Other Faiths
As the Christian churches have suffered a gradual decline in adherents, the relationship of the church with other faiths has been sorely tested. In particular, the split between Christianity and Unitarianism has seen some particularly nasty outbursts in the media, which has done little to prevent the decline in the support and adherence of members to the church. In 2046, the Catholic Bishop of Armidale, James Lovecrest launched a stinging attack on eastern faiths in his annual Christmas sermon at St Mary & Joseph's Cathedral. Lovecrest accused followers of Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism as "harbingers of terrorism and are a fundamental threat to the people of New England". These comments drew heavy criticism from the media and the government. Lovecrest has subsequently been made a cardinal by Pope Paul VIII and is now in Rome.
Yet in spite of this division, many progressive Christians have seen the benefits of a population that trusts in faith rather than transient fads. Unitarianism has proven to be a major source of stability for many people, and while conservatives continue to preach faire and damnation, progressive have slowly managed to take control of the apparatus in many denominations, and have toned down the provocation. In response, the other religious groups have been more willing to work with Christians on their social justice missions. A number of charitable groups have sprung up with members from every grouping imaginable, and they have had much success in curing social ills than the conservative groups that continue to use charities as a vehicle for proselytising and preaching.
