Anglicanism in the World

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Anglicanism in the World
Anglicanism came after the reformation way back in the sixteenth century. It resulted mainly from the power struggle between Protestants mainly of English origin and the Catholics. The main contributor to this religion is Thomas Craner, the arch bishop of the Canterbury way back in 1553 when he wrote two versions of the book of common prayers and 42 articles (Ayris, 116). Protestantism did not pick immediately until Queen Elizabeth I (MacCulloch, 630-632). During her tenure, the 42 articles were decreased to 39, and the book of the common prayer was redistributed. The church has a wide following from most parts of the world especially in Europe with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. In the United States of America, this religion is usually referred to as Episcopal. Anglicanism is practiced worldwide except in the Arabian Peninsula, parts of East, Central, and Southeast Asia, and Northwest Africa (Dinovo 1). It is believed to have a span of 164 countries worldwide with approximately between 70 million and 80 million followers comprising people of different ethnic backgrounds (Adherents, Table 3; Anglican Communion, 2011).
This religion traditionally perceives all places as equal, and there are no sacred places. However, there is a wide variety of sacred space that regards this church with regard to their traditions. A gathering of more than one person for worship constitutes a church, regardless of the physical location of the gathering. This, according to them, is to say that God is universal, and he can readily be accessed through prayers.
Since the religion is distributed across different continents, it is bound to compose of people of different cultural backgrounds. In Africa alone, there are very many cultural groups which have different traditions and tend to do things differently. However, when it comes to prayers they almost use the same methods and are said to have been instrumental in the introduction of musical instruments during church service, as well as clapping of hands. These groups are some how conservative. They tend to uphold the norms they inherited from their fore fathers. On the other hand, the Episcopal of America tends to liberals and has brought about some new practices which are controversial, like gay marriages (American Anglican Council, 8). This has generated a lot of debate that has threatened to split the church. This practice has in the recent past been observed to be spreading to other parts of the world. A notable example in Africa is Bishop Nolbert Kunonga, the Harare arch bishop. In countries like Australia, which forms the Oceania, the second largest denomination is Anglican. This group consists of people viewed as modest when it comes to their stand concerning church practices. This can be reasoned from the fact that there is freedom of worship, and yet they still maintain their love for Anglicanism.
Socially, we can say th...