Christians now a minority in England and Wales, census released

Published November 30, 2022
In this file photo, people wearing protective face masks walk over Westminster Bridge in front of the Elizabeth Tower, more commonly known as Big Ben, in London on December 15, 2021. — Reuters/File
In this file photo, people wearing protective face masks walk over Westminster Bridge in front of the Elizabeth Tower, more commonly known as Big Ben, in London on December 15, 2021. — Reuters/File

LONDON: Fewer than half of people in England and Wales identify as Christian, according to census data released on Tuesday, underlining a landmark shift towards secularism in multicultural Britain.

The findings from the 10-yearly census, carried out in 2021, came just over a month after Rishi Sunak became Britain’s first Hindu prime minister.

They showed rapid growth among the Muslim population. However, “no religion” was the second most common response after “Christian”, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell said it was no “great surprise” that the Christian proportion was declining over time. But he said that, facing a cost-of-living crisis and war in Europe, people still needed spiritual sustenance.

“We will be there for them, in many cases, providing food and warmth. And at Christmas, millions of people will still come to our services,” said the Anglican Church’s second-ranking cleric.

But the group Humanists UK, which campaigns for the rights of non-religious people, said the government should take on board policy implications. Those included government backing for religious schools and for the established Church of England, its chief executive Andrew Copson said.

“Iran is the only other state in the world that has clerics voting in its legislature. And no other country in the world requires compulsory Christian worship in (non-religious) schools as standard,” he said.

“This census result should be a wake-up call which prompts fresh reconsiderations of the role of religion in society.”

‘That’s just Britain’

Some 27.5 million people, or 46.2 percent in England and Wales, described themselves as Christian, down 13.1 percentage points from 2011.

“No religion” rose by 12 points to 37.2 percent or 22.2 million, while Muslims stood at 3.9 million or 6.5 percent of the population, up from 4.9 percent before.

The next most common responses were Hindu (1.0 million) and Sikh (524,000), while Buddhists overtook Jewish people (273,000 and 271,000 respectively). “Obviously the UK is a diverse country and that is to be welcomed, and that includes diversity of religion as well,” Sunak’s spokesman told reporters in response to the census.

Sunak won the race to replace Liz Truss as prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party on Octo­ber 24, the same day that Hindus marked Diwali, the festival of lights. The next day, the new premier’s first formal event in 10 Downing Street was a Diwali reception.

On Tuesday, Sunak was hosting a Downing Street reception marking the Advent build-up to Christmas with “guests invited from across the Christian community”, the spokesman said.

The former finance minister’s grandparents hailed from Punjab in northern India and emigrated to Britain from eastern Africa in the 1960s.

“As chancellor I was able to light my Diwali diyas (lamps) on the steps of Downing Street,” Sunak told The Times newspaper this month. “It said something wonderful about our country that that was possible, but also that it wasn’t a big deal.

“It was in a sense ‘Gosh, this is great’ but also that’s just Britain,” he added, reflecting on his ascent to the political peak.

The ONS has been releasing key sections from last year’s census piecemeal. The latest dealt with religion and ethnic identity. Data for Scotland and Northern Ireland are released separately.

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2022

Opinion

Editorial

Afghan turbulence
Updated 19 Mar, 2024

Afghan turbulence

RELATIONS between the newly formed government and Afghanistan’s de facto Taliban rulers have begun on an...
In disarray
19 Mar, 2024

In disarray

IT is clear that there is some bad blood within the PTI’s ranks. Ever since the PTI lost a key battle over ...
Festering wound
19 Mar, 2024

Festering wound

PROTESTS unfolded once more in Gwadar, this time against the alleged enforced disappearances of two young men, who...
Defining extremism
Updated 18 Mar, 2024

Defining extremism

Redefining extremism may well be the first step to clamping down on advocacy for Palestine.
Climate in focus
18 Mar, 2024

Climate in focus

IN a welcome order by the Supreme Court, the new government has been tasked with providing a report on actions taken...
Growing rabies concern
18 Mar, 2024

Growing rabies concern

DOG-BITE is an old problem in Pakistan. Amid a surfeit of public health challenges, rabies now seems poised to ...