October 25, 2022 was called Britain “The Obama moment»: On this day, Rishi Sunak became the country’s first non-white Prime Minister. But the current head of the British government represents an even bigger change. As a practicing Hindu, Sunak is also Britain’s first non-Christian prime minister. And although Sunak won his position via an internal poll among Conservative Party MPs rather than a general election, on the latter count at least his mandate is timely and symbolic.
Because, as confirmed by the published results of 2021 Census, England is no longer – for the first time in more than 1,500 years – a country with a Christian majority. The big winner is not just any other religion, but “no religion.” In other words, it is also the “Dover Beach» moment, when the Sea of Faith retreats in a “melancholy roar, long and withdrawn”.
At the end of November 2022, the UK Office for National Statistics results published for the question of religion census (which covers both England and Wales, but not Scotland or Northern Ireland). The ONS website also offers the results in the form of an interactive map, allowing a cartographic exploration of the latest religious statistics for England and Wales.
Christianity is in rapid decline
- In the 2001 census, the first time people were asked about their religion, 71.7 percent (37.3 million) of people in England and Wales described themselves as “Christian”.
- In 2011, this share fell by 12.4 percentage points (pp) to 59.3 percent (33.3 million).
- The latest figures show that this decline is accelerating slightly: down 13.1 points to 46.2 percent (27.5 million). This is the largest decline among all responses to this question in the 2021 census.
The “Nones”: the mirroring rise of “non-religion”
- The decline of Christianity is reflected in the rise of “no religion”. In 2001, this answer was chosen by only 14.8 percent (7.7 million).
- In 2011, the proportion of people with “no religion” increased by 10.4 points to 25.2 percent (14.1 million).
- The latest figures put it at 37.2% (22.2 million), an increase of a further 12 percentage points, the largest increase among all responses to this question in the 2021 census.
No Christian plurality in Wales
- This is the first time since the question was asked that “Christian” is no longer the majority answer.
- Christianity retains its overall plurality among religions, meaning it remains the largest religious group in both England (46.3%) and Wales (43.6%).
- However, in Wales – where the decline of “Christian” and the rise of “no religion” has been more pronounced than in England – the latter response now holds the majority (46.5%).
The most Christian and the least religious
- The Christian heartland of England lies in the North West, with around two thirds of people identifying themselves as ‘Christian’ in the local authorities of Knowsley (66.6%), Ribble Valley (66.4%) and Copeland (65%). .1%).
- The most Christian local authorities in Wales are much less so: the island of Anglesey and Flintshire are only barely majority Christian (51.5% each).
- The three least religious areas in England and Wales (i.e. areas where most people say ‘no religion’) are all in Wales: Caerphilly (56.7%) , Blaenau Gwent (56.4%) and Rhondda Cynon Taf (56.2%).
- The least religious region in England was Brighton and Hove (55.2%).
- Even Knowsley is following the national trend: “No religion” increased from 12.6% in 2011 to 27.2% in 2021, while “Christian” fell 14.3% from 80.9% in 2011.
Other major religions
- Two responses showed a marked increase: those who identified as “Muslim,” from 4.9 percent to 6.5 percent (2.7 million to 3.9 million); And
- People calling themselves “Hindu” increased from 1.5% to 1.7% (818,000 to 1 million).
- The highest percentage of those who describe themselves as “Sikh” are in Wolverhampton (12%, compared to 9.1%), in the West Midlands.
- “Jewish” was the most answered in Hertsmere (17%), just north of London.
- The highest share of ‘Buddhist’ responses was in Rushmoor (4.7%), in north-east Hampshire.
Minor religions (no)
- Around 405,000 respondents (0.7% of the total population) chose to write in a religion, producing detailed statistics on as many as 58 religious groups.
- These included, in descending order of popularity: Pagan (74,000), Alevi (26,000), Jain (25,000), Wicca (13,000), Ravidassia (10,000), Shaman (8,000), Rastafarian (6 000) and Zoroastrian (4,000).
- Shamanism is the fastest growing, with a tenfold increase from just 650 in 2011.
- The “any other religion” option was also used to include a few specifically non-religious responses: agnostic (32,000), atheist (14,000), and humanist (10,000).
Special case: London
- London remains the most religiously diverse region of England. “Christian” remains the most common answer (40.7%, 3.6 million), but 25.3% (2.2 million) identify with other religions, compared to 22.6% (1.8 million) in 2021.
- The second most popular answer in London was “Muslim” (15%, up from 12.6% in 2011). Tower Hamlets, in east London, had the highest proportion of Muslims in England and Wales (39.9 per cent, compared to 38 per cent).
- The third was “Hindu” (5.1 percent, compared to 5 percent). Harrow, northwest London, has the highest proportion of Hindus in England and Wales (25.8 percent, compared with 25.3 percent).
