For the first time, according to a 2021 census, less than 50% of the population in England and Wales describe themselves as Christian.
The percentage of those who call themselves Christians has reached 46.2 percent, compared to 59.3 percent recorded in the previous 2011 census.
On the other hand, the percentage of non-religious people has increased to 37.2 percent of the population, up from 25 percent previously.
The number of those who identify as Muslims rose from 4.9% in 2011 to 6.5% last year.
The National Statistics Office conducts this population census every 10 years.
In the voluntary questioning included in the 2001 census, people were asked a general question about what their religion was, rather than being asked more specifically about their religious beliefs or practices.
Professor Linda Woodhead, of King’s College London, says checking the ‘no religion’ box does not mean there is no belief.
“Some will be atheists, many will be agnostics – they just say ‘we don’t really know’ – and some will be spiritual and do spiritual things.”
When people were asked separately about their ethnic group, the census identified 81.7% of residents of England and Wales as white.
The number of people identified by the census as Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African was 2.5% of the population, compared with 1.8%.
One in 10 households in England and Wales now consists of people from two or more different ethnic groups.
The cities of Luton, Birmingham and Leicester are among 14 areas in England where white people are now in the minority.
What the census indicates may seem interesting, as the census showed that less than half of the people in England and Wales are Christian.
But social surveys have for years shown a rapid increase in self-identification as irreligious, often indicating they are the largest group, but this is not the case in census data.
Nor does the census make that clear with its simple optional question, “What is your religion?” Details of the 22.2 million people in the “no religion” category, such as those who don’t believe in God at all, and those who believe in some form, or believe in the effect of prayer and the idea of an afterlife.
London is the most religiously diverse area in England, according to the census.
The Archbishop of York said after the announcement that the country had “left behind a time when many people almost automatically identified themselves as Christians”.
The Rev. Stephen Cottrell said, “It’s not surprising that the census shows that fewer people in this country identify as Christian than in the past, but it still represents a challenge for us.”
He added that faced with the high cost of living, crisis and war in Europe, people still need spiritual guidance, saying, “We will support them by providing them with food and warmth in many cases.”
Andrew Copson, chief executive of The Humanists, added that the figures should be a “wake-up call to reconsidering the role of religion in society”.
The census reveals how British society is shaped by people’s responses to questions about themselves, their families and their homes.
Census results help organizations make planning and funding decisions for public services, including transportation, education, and health care.
More than 24 million households in England and Wales took part in surveys for the 2021 census, which was conducted on 21 March last year.
More census data will be released gradually over the next two years.
A census in Scotland was due to take place in 2021 but has been postponed for a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
