Religion in Sussex has been dominated over the last 1,400 years by Christianity. Like the rest of England, the established church in Sussex is the Church of England, although other Christian traditions exist. After Christianity, the religion with the most adherents is Islam, followed by Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and Sikhism.
Sussex is sometimes referred to as 'Silly Sussex', for silly is a corruption of Old Saxon saelig meaning 'holy'.
The historic county has been a single diocese after St Wilfrid converted the kingdom of Sussex in the seventh century. Historically, the west of the county has had a tendency towards Catholicism while the east of the county has had a tendency towards non-conformism. The county has been home to several pilgrimage sites, including the shrine (at Chichester Cathedral) to St Richard of Chichester which was destroyed during the Reformation, and the more recent Catholic shrine at West Grinstead. During the Marian persecutions, several Sussex men were martyred for their Protestant faith, including 17 men at Lewes. The Society of Dependants (nicknamed the Cokelers) were a non-conformist sect formed in Loxwood. The Quaker and founding father of Pennsylvania, William Penn worshipped near Thakeham; his UK home from 1677 to 1702 was at nearby Warminghurst.
Sussex is connected with several saints, including St Wilfrid, sometimes known as the 'Apostle of Sussex'; St Cuthman of Steyning; St Cuthflæd of Lyminster; St Lewina; St Richard of Chichester, Sussex's patron saint; St Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel; and James Hannington. In folklore, Mayfield and Devil's Dyke are linked with St Dunstan, while West Tarring has links with St Thomas a Becket.
A wide variety of non-traditional religious and belief groups have bases in and around East Grinstead. The UK headquarters of the Church of Scientology is situated at Saint Hill Manor, formerly the home of the group's founder, L. Ron Hubbard. In 2011 Mid Sussex had the highest proportion of Scientologists per head of any district in England and Wales. Opus Dei, the Rosicrucian Order and the Pagan Federation also have bases nearby. The UK's first temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) lies north of East Grinstead, just over the Surrey border.
Statistics
The statistics for current religion (not religion of upbringing where also asked) from the 2011 census are set out in the tables below.
Religion (2011)Brighton and HoveEast Sussex local authority areaEast Sussex ceremonial countyWest SussexSussexEnglandUnited KingdomNumber%Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%Christianity117,27642.9315,65959.9432,93554.1498,36761.8931,30257.831,479,37659.437,583,96259.5Islam6,0952.24,2010.810,2961.212,6681.622,9641.42,660,1165.02,786,6354.4Hinduism1,7920.71,5010.33,2930.47,3680.910,6610.7806,1991.5835,3941.3Sikhism3420.11780.05200.11,1370.11,6570.1420,1960.8432,4290.7Judaism2,6701.01,0740.23,7440.51,4340.25,1780.3261,2820.5269,5680.4Buddhism2,7421.02,1900.44,9320.63,0570.47,9890.5238,6260.5261,5840.4Other religion2,4090.93,5080.75,9170.74,1210.510,0380.6227,8250.4262,7740.4Total non-Christian religion16,0505.912,6522.428,7023.629,7853.758,4873.64,614,2448.74,848,3847.7No religion115,95442.4155,72329.6271,67734.0216,84426.9488,52130.513,114,23224.716,221,50925.7Religion not stated24,0898.842,6378.166,7268.361,8967.7128,6228.03,804,1047.24,528,3237.2No religion and Religion not stated140,04351.2198,36037.6338,40342.3278,74034.5617,14338.316,948,83632.020,749,83232.8Total population273,400100.0527,200100.0800,200100.0808,900100.01,609,100100.053,012,456100.063,182,178100.0
Christianity
History
Romano-British
After the Roman conquest of AD 43, the Celtic society of Sussex became heavily Romanized.Snyder.The Britons. p. 53.Cunliffe. Ancient Celts. pp. 260–267
The first written account of Christianity in Britain comes from the early Christian Berber author, Tertullian, writing in the third century, who said that "Christianity could even be found in Britain."Snyder.The Britons. pp. 106–107 Emperor Constantine (AD 306-337), granted official tolerance to Christianity with the Edict of Milan in AD 313.Charles Thomas Christianity in Roman Britain to AD 500.p. 47 Then, in the reign of Emperor Theodosius "the Great" (AD 378–395), Christianity was made the official religion of the Roman Empire.R.M. Errington Roman Imperial Policy from Julian to Theodosius. Chapter VIII. Theodosius
When Roman rule eventually ceased, Christianity was probably confined to urban communities.Snyder.The Britons. p. 105.
Saxon
After the departure of the Roman army, the Saxons arrived in Sussex in the fifth century and brought with them their polytheistic religion.Jones. The end of Roman Britain. pp. 164–168Armstrong. A History of Sussex. pp. 38-40 The Saxon pagan culture probably caused a reversal of the spread of Christianity.Higham The English Conquest. p. 79. Then in AD 691 Saint Wilfrid, the exiled Bishop of York, landed at Selsey and is credited with evangelising the locals and founding the church in Sussex. According to Bede, it was the last area of the country to be converted.Bede.HE.IV.13
Norman and Angevin Following the Norman Conquest of 1066, there was a purge of the English episcopate in 1070.Kelly. The Bishopric of Selsey in Mary Hobbs. Chichester Cathedral. p. 9 The Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Selsey was deposed and replaced with William the Conqueror's personal chaplain Stigand. During Stigand's episcopate the see that had been established at Selsey was transferred to Chichester after the Council of London of 1075 decreed that sees should be centred in cities rather than vills.
Bishop Ralph Luffa is credited with the foundation of the current Chichester Cathedral.Stephens. Memorials. p. 47 The original structure that had been built by Stigand was largely destroyed by fire in 1114.
The archdeaconries of Chichester and Lewes were created in the 12th century under Ralph Luffa.Hennessy. Chichester Diocese Clergy Lists. pp. 2–3
The Reformation
Like the rest of the country the Church of England's split with Rome during the reign of Henry VIII, was felt in Sussex.Peter Wilkinson. The Struggle for Protestant Reformation 1553-1564: in Kim Leslie's. An Historical Atlas of Sussex. pp. 52-53 In 1535, the king appointed Sir Thomas Cromwell as vicar-general. Cromwell visited Sussex later in 1535, as part of his national census of churches and monasteries. The census was carried out with the intention of taxing church property more effectively. Then during the following year of 1536, an act was passed that decreed the dissolution of monasteries with an income of less than £200 per annum.Stephens. Diocesan Histories. p. 165 The first phase was followed by the voluntary surrenders of the larger houses. Lewes Priory with Battle, was the first house in England, during the Dissolution, to surrender on a voluntary basis.Kitch. The Reformation in Sussex in Sussex Church History. p. 89 The monks surrendered the house in November 1537 in return for either being given a small pension or a living as a priest. Sussex did not do too badly compared to the rest of the country, as it only had one person in 500, who was a member of a religious order, compared to the national average of one in 256.Kitch. The Reformation in Sussex in Sussex Church History. p. 88
In 1538 there was a royal order for the demolition of the shrine of Saint Richard, in Chichester Cathedral.Stephens Memorials of the See of Chichester. pp. 213–214 Thomas Cromwell saying that there was a certain kind of idolatry about the shrine.
Richard Sampson, the Bishop of Chichester incurred the displeasure of Cromwell and ended up imprisoned in the Tower of London at the end of 1539.Stephens. Diocesan Histories. pp. 182–184 Sampson was released, after the fall from favour and execution of Cromwell in 1540. Sampson then continued at the see of Chichester for a further two years. Sampson was succeeded as Bishop of Chichester by George Day. Day opposed the changes, and incurred the displeasure of the royal commissioners who promptly suspended him as Bishop and allowed him only preach in his cathedral church.Stephens. Diocesan Histories. pp. 184–185.
Henry VIII died in 1547, his son Edward VI continued on the path that his father had set. However his reign was only short-lived as he died after only six years.
The bishops of Chichester had not been for the Reformation until the appointment of John Scory, to the episcopate, who replaced Day in 1552.Kitch. The Reformation in Sussex in Studies in Church History. p. 80 During Henry VIII's reign two of the canons of Chichester cathedral had been executed for their opposition to the Reformation and, during the reign of his son, Edward VI, George Day ultimately had been imprisoned for his opposition to the reforms.
There had been twenty years of religious reform, when the Catholic Mary I succeeded to the throne of England in 1553.Kitch. The Reformation in Sussex in Studies in Church History. p. 77 Mary expected her clergy to be unmarried, so Bishop Scory thought it prudent to retire as he was a married man, and George Day was released and restored to the see of Chichester.Stephens. Diocesan Histories. p. 190
Mary's persecution of Protestants earned her the nickname Bloody Mary. The national figure for those Protestants burnt at the stake, during her reign, was around 288 and included 41 in Sussex. Most of the executions in Sussex were at Lewes. Of the total of 41 burnings, 36 can be identified to have come from specific parishes and the place of execution is known for 27 of them; this is because the details of the executions were recorded in the Book of Martyrs by John Foxe, published in 1563.Kitch. The Reformation in Sussex in Studies in Church History. pp. 94-98 There are Bonfire Societies in Sussex that still remember the 17 Protestant martyrs that burned in Lewes High Street, and in Lewes itself they have a procession of martyrs crosses during the bonfire night celebration.Seward. Sussex. p. 112
When Mary died, in 1558, she was replaced by her Protestant half-sister Elizabeth I.
Elizabeth re-established the break with Rome when she passed the 1559 Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity, the clergy were expected to take statutory oaths and those that did not were deprived of their living. In the county nearly half the cathedral and about 40% of the parish clergy had to be replaced, although some of the vacancies were due to ill health or death.
Civil War
There were no battles of national significance, in Sussex, during the 1642–1651 English civil war, however there were small sieges at Chichester and Arundel.Maurice Howard. Civil War in Kim Leslie's. An Historical Atlas of Sussex. pp. 58–59. The west of the county was generally for the king although Chichester was for parliament and the east of the county, with some exceptions, was also for parliament.Seward. Sussex. pp. 142-144. A few churches were damaged particularly in the Arundel area. Also, after the surrender of Chichester, the Cathedral was sacked by Sir William Waller's parliamentary troops.Trevor Brighton. Art in the Cathedral from the Foundation to the Civil War in Mary Hobbs. Chichester Cathedral an Historical Survey. pp. 69–84 Bruno Ryves, Dean of Chichester Cathedral said of the troops that they deface and mangle (the monuments) with their swords as high as they could reach. He also complained that Waller's troops.. "..brake down the Organs and dashing the pipes with their Pole-axes.." Mercurius Rusticus p. 139 Destruction of the cathedrals' music seems to have been one of the objectives as Ryves also said, of Waller's men, that.. "they force open all the locks, either of doors or desks wherein the Singing-men laid up their Common-Prayer Books, their singing-Books, their Gowns and Surplesses they rent the Books in pieces and scatter the torn leaves all over the Church, even to the covering of the Pavement.." Mercurius Rusticus p. 140