Census: Christians a minority in England; non-religious grow - The Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Fewer than fractional the radical successful England and Wales see themselves Christian, according to the astir caller census — the archetypal clip a number of the colonisation has followed the country’s authoritative religion.

Britain has go little spiritual — and little white — successful the decennary since the past census, figures from the 2021 census released Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics revealed.

Some 46.2% of the colonisation of England and Wales described themselves arsenic Christian connected the time of the 2021 census, down from 59.3% a decennary earlier. The Muslim colonisation grew from 4.9% to 6.5% of the total, portion 1.7% identified arsenic Hindu, up from 1.5%.

More than 1 successful 3 radical — 37% — said they had nary religion, up from 25% successful 2011.

The different parts of the U.K., Scotland and Northern Ireland, study their census results separately.

Secularism campaigners said the displacement should trigger a rethink of the mode religion is entrenched successful British society. The U.K. has state-funded Church of England schools, Anglican bishops beryllium successful Parliament’s precocious chamber, and the monarch is “defender of the faith” and ultimate politician of the church.

Andrew Copson, main enforcement of the foundation Humanists U.K., said “the melodramatic maturation of the non-religious” had made the U.K. “almost surely 1 of the slightest spiritual countries connected Earth.”

“One of the astir striking things astir these results is however astatine likelihood the colonisation is from the authorities itself,” helium said. “No authorities successful Europe has specified a spiritual set-up arsenic we bash successful presumption of instrumentality and nationalist policy, portion astatine the aforesaid clip having specified a non-religious population.”

Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, 1 of the astir elder clerics successful the Church of England, said the information was “not a large surprise,” but was a situation to Christians to enactment harder to beforehand their faith.

“We person near down the epoch erstwhile galore radical astir automatically identified arsenic Christian, but different surveys consistently amusement however the aforesaid radical inactive question spiritual information and contented and a acceptable of values to unrecorded by,” helium said.

Almost 82% of radical successful England and Wales identified arsenic achromatic successful the census, down from 86% successful 2011. Some 9% said they were Asian, 4% Black and 3% from “mixed oregon multiple” taste backgrounds, portion 2% identified with different taste group.

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