Religion



The Anglo-Saxons had no religion when they came to Britain, but, as time passed, they gradually converted to Christianity. Many of the customs we have in England today come from pagan festivals. Pagans worshiped lots of different gods. Each pagan god controlled a particular part of everyday life: the family, growing crops, love, healing, wisdom, metalworking, the weather, war, day & night and so on. Religion was a means of ensuring success in material things. For example, you might pray to a particular goddess for a successful harvest, or for victory in battle.  From Pagan to Christianity About 1400 years ago, the Pope in Rome sent a missionary to England to invited the Anglo-Saxons to become Christians. The leader of the Christian Church was the Pope, who lived in Rome. The Pope sent a monk called Augustine to England. [|Augustine] landed in the south and converted the first King Ethelbert of Kent, and then the people living there. The Pope made Augustine a Bishop and Ethelbert allowed him to build a church in Canterbury. Christianity then spread to other parts of Britain. The pope gave orders that pagan temples should be converted into Christian ones and that pagan celebrations should also be made into Christian ones. Churches, usually built of wood, were built in Saxon villages all over Britain.

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