Religion in the United Kingdom

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Religion in the United Kingdom is about the development of religion in the United Kingdom since its formation in 1707. The Treaty of Union that led to the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain[1] (which became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801 when Great Britain signed an Act of Union with Ireland) ensured that there would be a Protestant succession as well as a link between church and state that still remains.

According to the 2001 UK census, Christianity remains the major religion, followed by Islam, Hinduism, Jediism, Sikhism, Judaism and Buddhism in terms of number of adherents. Though each country that makes up the UK has a long tradition of Christianity that pre-dates the UK itself, in practice all have relatively low levels of religious observance and today are secular societies.[2]

Contents

[edit] Christianity

Christian denominations in the UK  v • d • e 
UK Interchurch
Anglican
Baptist
Catholic
Holiness & Pietist
Lutheran
Methodist & Wesleyan
New Church Movement
Orthodox
Pentecostal
Presbyterian & Reformed
Other
Westminster Abbey is used for the coronation of British monarchs

The largest religious group in England is Christianity, with the Church of England (Anglican) the Established Church:[3] the church retains a representation in the UK Parliament and the British monarch is a member of the church (required under Article 2 of the Treaty of Union) as well as its Supreme Governor.[4] The Church of England also retains the right to draft legislative measures (related to religious administration) through the General Synod that can then be passed into law by Parliament.[5]

The largest religious group in Scotland is also Christianity, though the presbyterian Church of Scotland (known informally as The Kirk), is recognised as the national church.[6] It is not subject to state control and the British monarch is an ordinary member, required to swear an oath to "maintain and preserve the Protestant Religion and Presbyterian Church Government" upon his or her accession.[7] The Roman Catholic Church in Scotland is Scotland's second largest Christian church, representing a sixth of the population.[8] The Scottish Episcopal Church, which is part of the Anglican Communion,[9] dates from the final establishment of Presbyterianism in Scotland in 1690, when it split from the Church of Scotland and is not a 'daughter church' of the Church of England. Further splits in the Church of Scotland, especially in the nineteenth century, led to the creation of various other Presbyterian churches in Scotland, including the Free Church of Scotland.

In the 1920s, the Church in Wales became independent from the Church of England and became 'disestablished' but remains in the Anglican Communion. Baptist Union of Wales, Methodism and the Presbyterian Church of Wales are present in Wales as well.

The main religious groups in Northern Ireland are organised on an all-Ireland basis.[10] Though Protestants and Anglicans are in the overall majority,[11] the Roman Catholic Church of Ireland is the largest single church. The Presbyterian Church in Ireland, closely linked to the Church of Scotland in terms of theology and history, is the second largest church followed by the Church of Ireland (Anglican) which was disestablished in the nineteenth century.

Between 2004 and 2008, the Office for National Statistics reported that the number of Christians in Great Britain (rather than the UK as a whole) fell by more than 2 million.[12] The single largest age-cohort in the Christian population is in those over 70 years of age.[12]

There are also growing Orthodox, Evangelical and Pentecostal churches, with Pentecostal churches in England now third after the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church in terms of church attendance.[13] Among the Pentecostal churches are Elim Pentecostal Church and Assemblies of God in the United Kingdom.[14] Other Christian groups include The Salvation Army,[15] United Reformed Church,[16] Assemblies of God,[17] Plymouth Brethren,[18] Baptist Union,[19] Methodists,[20] Congregationalists[21] and Newfrontiers.[22]

[edit] National churches

[edit] Saints

There is no Patron Saint of the United Kingdom as the individual countries each have their own patron saint:

[edit] Catholicism

The Catholic Church has separate national organisations for England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland which means there is no single hierarchy for Catholicism in the United Kingdom. The Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales is the second largest Christian church with around five million members, mainly in England.[23] There is however a single apostolic nuncio to Great Britain, presently Archbishop Faustino Sainz Muñoz. The Apostolic Nuncio to the island of Ireland (both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland) is Giuseppe Leanza. Eastern Rite Catholics in the United Kingdom are served by their own clergy and do not belong to the Latin Rite (i.e. Roman Catholic) dioceses.

[edit] Pentecostal

There is also a growing number of independent, charismatic churches that encourage Pentecostal practices as part of their worship. These are broadly grouped together as the British New Church Movement and could number up to 400,000 members.

[edit] Immigrant Congregations

Although the vast majority of them are Pentecostal, yet the phenomenon of immigrant churches and congregations that began with the arrival of the SS Empire Windrush from the West Indies in 1948 stands as a unique trend. West Indian congregations that started from this time included the following:

Africans began to arrive in the early eighties and established their own congregations. Foremost among these are Matthew Ashimolowo from Nigerian and his Kingsway International Christian Centre in London that is now arguably the largest church in Western Europe.[24]

Latin American congregations such as Brazilian and Spanish-speaking churches were planted in the nineties, many of which were initially satellite churches of Kensington Temple.

Korean churches also sprang up especially in New Malden, Surrey where there is a large and growing community of South Koreans.

[edit] Methodist

The Methodist church at Haroldswick is the most northerly church in the United Kingdom

The Methodist movement traces its origin to the evangelical awakening in the 18th century. Today,

[edit] Baptist

[edit] Eastern Orthodox Churches

The Cathedral of the Dormition of the Most-Holy Mother of God and the Holy Royal Martyrs (Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia), in Gunnersbury.

[edit] Oriental Orthodox Churches

[edit] Other Christian denominations

The United Reformed Church (URC), a union of Presbyterian and Congregational churches, consists of about 1,500 congregations[31] in England, Scotland and Wales.

There are about 600 Congregational churches in the UK. In England there are three main groups, the Congregational Federation, the Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches, and about 100 Congregational churches that are loosely federated with other congregations in the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches, or are unaffiliated. In Scotland the churches are mostly member of the Congregational Federation and in Wales which traditionally has a larger number of Congregationalists, most are members of the Union of Welsh Independents.

Presbyterian is a family of Christian denominations within the Reformed branch of Protestant Western Christianity. A form of Calvinism, Presbyterianism evolved primarily in Scotland before the Act of Union in 1707. Most of the few Presbyteries found in England can trace a Scottish connection. The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland was formed in 1893 and claims to be the spiritual descendant of the Scottish Reformation. The Free Church of Scotland, which claims to tbe the legitimate Free Church in Scotland was founded in 1900. The Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales was founded in the late 1980s and declared themselves to be a Presbytery in 1996. They currently have ten churches.[32] The Presbyterian Church in Ireland is the largest Protestant denomination and second largest church in Northern Ireland. The Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster was founded on 17 March 1951 by the cleric and politician, Ian Paisley. It has about 60 churches in Northern Ireland. The Presbyterian Church of Wales seceded from the Church of England in 1811 and formally formed itself into a separate body in 1823. The Non-subscribing Presbyterian Church of Ireland has 31 congregations in Northern Ireland,[33] with the first Presbytery being formed in Antrim in 1725.[34]

The Britain Yearly Meeting is the umbrella body for the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in England, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Isles and the Isle of Man. There are 25,000 worshippers with about 400 local meetings. Northern Ireland comes under the umbrella of the Ireland Yearly Meeting.

London England Temple (LDS)

The Salvation Army was founded in the East End of London in 1865.

The General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches is the umbrella organisation for Unitarian, Free Christian and other liberal religious congregations in the UK. The Unitarian Christian Association was formed in 1991.

The first missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to proselyte in the British Isles arrived in 1837. By 1900 as many as 100,000 converts had joined the faith, but most of these early members promptly emigrated to the United States to join the main body of the church. Beginning in the 1950s emigration to the United States began to be discouraged and local congregations began to proliferate. Today the church claims just over 186,000 members across the United Kingdom, spread out across over 330 local congregations. The church also maintains two temples in England, the first being built in the London area in the 1950s, and the second being built in Preston and dedicated in 1998. Preston is also the site of the first preaching by the missionaries in 1837, and is home to the oldest continually existing Latter Day Saint congregation anywhere in the world.[35]

Among other denominations are:

[edit] Islam

Main articles: Islam in England, Islam in Northern Ireland, Islam in Scotland, and Islam in Wales
Baitul Futuh Mosque. The largest mosque in the UK.[37]

Though Islam was not legalised until the Trinitarian Act in 1812, recent estimates suggest a total of as high as 2.4 million Muslims over all the UK.[38][39] The vast majority of Muslims in the UK live in England and Wales: of 1,591,000 Muslims recorded at the 2001 Census,[40] 1,536,015 were living in England and Wales,[41] where they form 3% of the population; 42,557 were living in Scotland, forming 0.84% of the population;[42] and 1,943 were living in Northern Ireland.[43]

Most Muslim immigrants to the UK came from former colonies. The biggest groups of Muslims are of Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Indian origin,[44] with the remainder coming from Muslim-dominated areas such as Southwest Asia, Somalia, Malaysia, and Indonesia.[45] During the 18th century, lascars (sailors) who worked for the British East India Company settled in port towns with local wives.[46] These numbered only 24,037 in 1891 but 51,616 on the eve of World War I.[47] Naval cooks, including Sake Dean Mahomet, also came from what is now the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh.[48] From the 1950s onwards, the growing Muslim population has led to a number of notable Mosques being established, including Manchester Central Mosque, East London Mosque, London Markaz, London Central Mosque and, more recently, Baitul Futuh Mosque of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

According to a Labour Force Survey estimate, the total number of Muslims in Great Britain in 2008 was 2,422,000, around 4% of the total population.[12] Between 2004 and 2008, the Muslim population grew by more than 500,000.[12] The largest age-bracket within the British Muslim population were those under the age of 4, at 301,000 in September 2008.[12] The Muslim Council of Britain is an umbrella organisation for many local, regional and specialist Islamic organisations in the UK.

[edit] Hinduism

The Neasden Temple is the second largest temple of Hinduism in Europe.
Main articles: Hinduism in England, Hinduism in Northern Ireland, Hinduism in Scotland, and Hinduism in Wales

Hinduism was the religion of 558,342 people in Great Britain according to the 2001 census[49] but an estimate in a British newspaper in 2007 has put the figure as high as 1.5 Million.[50] One Non-governmental organisation estimated as of 2007 that there are 800,000 Hindus in the UK.[51] Although most British Hindus live in England, with half living in London alone,[52] small communities also exist in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

[edit] Jediism

1.79% of respondents in the most recent national identity self-identified themselves as followers of the Jedi belief created as part of the narrative structure of the Star Wars science-fiction movie series.

[edit] Judaism

Main articles: History of the Jews in England, History of the Jews in Scotland, History of the Jews in Wales, and History of the Jews in Ireland
Singers Hill Synagogue, Birmingham, England.

The Jewish Naturalisation Act, enacted in 1753, permitted the naturalisation of foreign Jews, but was repealed the next year. The first graduate from the University of Glasgow who was openly-known to be Jewish was in 1787. Unlike their English contemporaries, Scottish students were not required to take a religious oath. In 1841 Isaac Lyon Goldsmid was made baronet, the first Jew to receive a hereditary title. The first Jewish Lord Mayor of the City of London, Sir David Salomons, was elected in 1855, followed by the 1858 emancipation of the Jews. On 26 July 1858, Lionel de Rothschild was finally allowed to sit in the British House of Commons when the law restricting the oath of office to Christians was changed. (Benjamin Disraeli, a baptised, teenage convert to Christianity of Jewish parentage, was already an MP at this time and rose to become Prime Minister in 1874.) In 1884 Nathan Mayer Rothschild, 1st Baron Rothschild became the first Jewish member of the British House of Lords; again Disraeli was already a member.

Today British Jews number around 300,000 with the UK having the fifth largest Jewish community worldwide.[53] However, this figure did not include Jews who identified 'by ethnicity only' in England and Wales or Scottish Jews who identified as Jewish by upbringing but held no current religion. A report in August 2007 by University of Manchester historian Dr Yaakov Wise stated that 75% of all births in the Jewish community were to ultra-orthodox, Haredi parents, and that the increase of ultra-orthodox Jewry has led to a significant rise in the proportion of British Jews who are ultra-orthodox. This with various studies that from within Jewish communities and particularly in some strictly Orthodox areas, residents ignored the voluntary question on religion following the advice of their religious leaders which has resulted in a serious undercount, therefore it is ultimately difficult to give an accurate number on the total UK Jewish population. It may be even more than double the official estimates, heavily powered by the very high birth rate of orthodox families and British people who are Jewish by race but not religion; as it currently stands, the Jewish as a race section is not documented on the census.[54]

[edit] Sikhism

Main article: Sikhism in the United Kingdom
See also: Sikhism in England, Sikhism in Scotland, and Sikhism in Wales

Sikhism was recorded as the religion of 336,179 people in the United Kingdom at the time of the 2001 Census.[55] While England is home to the majority of Sikhs in the UK, small communities also exist in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The first recorded Sikh settler in the UK was Maharaja Duleep Singh, dethroned and exiled in 1849 at the age of 14, after the Anglo-Sikh wars. The first Sikh Gurdwara (temple) was established in 1911, in Putney, London. The first wave of Sikh migration came in the 1950s, mostly of men from the Punjab seeking work in industries such as foundries and textiles. These new arrivals mostly settled in London, Birmingham and West Yorkshire. Thousands of Sikhs from East Africa followed.

[edit] Buddhism

Kagyu Samyé Ling Monastery and Tibetan Centre in Scotland
Main article: Buddhism in the United Kingdom
See also: Buddhism in England, Buddhism in Scotland, and Buddhism in Wales

The earliest Buddhist influence on Britain came through its imperial connections with South East Asia, and as a result the early connections were with the Theravada traditions of Burma, Thailand, and Sri Lanka. The tradition of study resulted in the foundation of the Pali Text Society, which undertook the task of translating the Pali Canon of Buddhist texts into English. Buddhism as a path of practice was pioneered by the Theosophists, Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott, and in 1880 they became the first Westerners to receive the refuges and precepts, the ceremony by which one traditionally becomes a Buddhist.

In 1924 London’s Buddhist Society was founded, and in 1926 the Theravadin London Buddhist Vihara. The rate of growth was slow but steady through the century, and the 1950s saw the development of interest in Zen Buddhism. In 1967 Kagyu Samyé Ling Monastery and Tibetan Centre, now the largest Tibetan Buddhist centre in Western Europe, was founded in Scotland. The first home-grown Buddhist movement was also founded in 1967, the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (now the Triratna Buddhist Community). There are many Sōka Gakkai Buddhist groups in the UK.

[edit] Neopaganism

neo-druids.
Main article: Neopaganism in the United Kingdom

In the 2001 Census, a total of 42,262 people from England, Scotland, and Wales declared themselves to be Pagans or adherents of Wicca. However, other surveys have led to estimates of around 250,000 or even higher.[56][57]

[edit] Bahá'í Faith

Shoghi Effendi resting place.jpg
Main article: Bahá'í Faith in the United Kingdom
See also: Bahá'í Faith in England, Bahá'í Faith in Scotland, and Bahá'í Faith in Wales

The Bahá'í Faith in the United Kingdom has a historical connection with the earliest phases of the Bahá'í Faith starting in 1845 and has had a major effect on the development of communities of the religion in far flung nations around the world. It is estimated that between 1951 and 1993, Bahá'ís from the United Kingdom settled in 138 countries.[58] There are about 5000 Bahá'ís of the UK.[59]

[edit] Jainism

Leicester houses one of the world's few Jain temples that are outside of India.[60]

[edit] Main religious leaders

Lambeth Palace is the official residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury in London

[edit] Religion per regions

[edit] England and Wales

Main articles: Religion in England and Religion in Wales
Westminster Abbey is used for the coronation of all British Monarchs

Christianity is the main religion in England with the Church of England the Established Church.[62] It is the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion (except the Scottish Episcopal Church which has separate origins and is a Sister Church rather than a Daughter Church) and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national churches. It retains representation in the UK Parliament with the church's 26 bishops sitting in the House of Lords as Lords Spiritual, and the British monarch is a member of the church (required under Article 2 of the Treaty of Union) as well as its Supreme Governor. The Church of England also retains the right to draft legislative measures (related to religious administration) through the General Synod that can then be passed into law by Parliament. Christianity is also the main religion in Wales. In the 1920s, the Church in Wales became independent from the Church of England and became 'disestablished' but remains in the Anglican Communion.

Roman Catholic diocesan hierarchies were re-established in England and Wales in 1850 following the earlier Catholic Relief Act of 1829, which benefited Catholic middle classes (especially recusant Catholics), enabling many to secure better jobs in the judiciary and civil service.[63] Today the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales is the second largest Christian church across England and Wales with around five million members, mainly in England. The Church has five provinces: Birmingham, Cardiff, Liverpool, Southwark and Westminster. There are 22 dioceses which are divided into parishes. In addition to these, there are two dioceses covering England and Wales for specific groups which are the Bishopric of the Forces and the Apostolic Exarchate for Ukrainians. The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales together form the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, which meets regularly in London. Currently the Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, is the ex officio President of the Conference.

Pentecostal churches are continuing to grow and, in terms of church attendance, are now third after the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church in England.[64] Other Christian groups include Salvation Army, United Reformed Church, Plymouth Brethren, Baptist Union, Baptist Union of Wales, Methodists, Congregationalists and house churches.

[edit] Notable places of worship

[edit] Religion and education

In England and Wales, a significant number of state funded schools are faith schools with the vast majority Christian (mainly either of Church of England or Roman Catholic) though there are also Jewish, Muslim and Sikh faith schools. Faith schools follow the same national curriculum as state schools, though with the added ethos of the host religion. Until 1944 there was no requirement for state schools to provide religious education or worship, although most did so. The Education Act 1944 introduced a requirement for a daily act of collective worship and for religious education but did not define what was allowable under these terms. The act contained provisions to allow parents to withdraw their children from these activities and for teachers to refuse to participate. The Education Reform Act 1988 introduced a further requirement that the majority of collective worship be "wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character".[65] In recent years schools have increasingly failed to comply with the collective worship rules - in 2004 David Bell, the Chief Inspector of Schools said that "at present more than three-quarters of schools fail to meet this requirement."[66] Religious studies is still an obligatory subject in the curriculum, but tends to aim at providing an understanding of the main faiths of the world rather than at instilling a strictly Christian viewpoint.

[edit] Northern Ireland

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh.
Main article: Religion in Northern Ireland

Christianity is the main religion in Northern Ireland though the main denominations are organised on an all-Ireland basis. After that, though dwarfed by the Christian churches, the country also has small Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Jewish communities. The 2001 UK census found that 40.3% of the population claimed Roman Catholic affiliation, 20.7% in the Presbyterian Church, 15.3% with the Church of Ireland and 3.5% with the Methodist Church. About 13.8% stated no religion, and members of other religions constituted 0.3%.

[edit] Christianity

Main article: Christianity in Ireland

The Roman Catholic Church in Ireland is the largest single church in Northern Ireland though there is a greater number of Protestants and Anglicans overall. The Church is organised into four provinces though these are not coterminous with the modern political division of Ireland. The seat of the Archbishop of Armagh, the Primate of All Ireland, is St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh.

The Presbyterian Church in Ireland, closely linked to the Church of Scotland in terms of theology and history, is the second largest church and largest protestant denomination. It is followed by the Church of Ireland (Anglican) which was the state church of Ireland until it was disestablished in the nineteenth century. In 2002, the much smaller Methodist Church in Ireland signed a covenant for greater cooperation and potential ultimate unity with the Church of Ireland.[67]

Smaller, but growing, protestant denominations like the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland and the Assemblies of God Ireland are also organised on an all-Ireland basis, though in the case of the AOG this was the result of a recent reorganisation.[68]

[edit] Notable places of worship

[edit] Religion and education

Northern Ireland has a highly segregated education system. 95% of pupils attend either maintained (Catholic) schools or controlled schools, which are open to children of all faiths and none, though in practice most pupils are from the Protestant community.

[edit] Scotland

Main article: Religion in Scotland
The ninth century St Martin's Cross stands outside the entrance to Iona Abbey in Iona, Scotland

The Presbyterian Church of Scotland is recognised by the Church of Scotland Act 1921 as the national church of Scotland, although it is not subject to state control. The British monarch is an ordinary member and is required to swear an oath to "defend the security" of the church upon his or her accession.

The Catholic Church in Scotland is Scotland's second largest Christian denomination, representing a sixth of the population. It records a higher number of regular attendees than the numerically greater Church of Scotland. Catholic diocesan hierarchies were restored in Scotland in 1878. In the 2001 census about 16% of the population of Scotland described themselves as being Latin or Eastern Rite Catholic.[69] Currently, they constitute 17% of Scotland, with 850,000 members. Journalist Andrew Collier notes that Scottish Catholics do not see themselves as a tribal minority, "but as a confident and influential part of the country's demographic mix." This Catholic self-esteem has had a significant political effect, with Catholics starting to find common ground with the Scottish Nationalist Party.[70] Scotland has two provinces - that of Glasgow and that of St Andrews and Edinburgh - comprising eight dioceses. The two archbishops and bishops come together in the Bishops' Conference of Scotland. Currently, the Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, is President of the Conference.

The Scottish Episcopal Church is Scotland's third largest Christian denomination with around 39,000 members.[71] It dates from the final establishment of Presbyterianism in Scotland in 1690, when it split from the Church of Scotland. Though part of the Anglican Communion, it is not a 'daughter church' of the Church of England as it was not established by bishops or clergy of that church.

Further splits in the Church of Scotland, especially in the nineteenth century, led to the creation of various other Presbyterian groups in Scotland, including the Free Church of Scotland. In 1900 the vast majority of the Free Church of Scotland united with the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland to form the United Free Church of Scotland, which then re-united with the Church of Scotland in 1929. Those members who refused to join, founded a new Free Church of Scotland, which they claimed to be the legitimate Free Church in 1900.

Current figures vary, based on the publication that presents them, but the current non-religious section of the Scottish population is placed between the vastly differing figures of 26% and 75%. Non-religious means non-practising rather than atheist or agnostic.

[edit] Notable places of worship

[edit] Religion and education

In Scotland, the majority of schools are non-denominational, but separate Roman Catholic schools, with an element of control by the Roman Catholic Church, are provided within the state system.

[edit] Religion and politics

Though the main political parties are secular, the formation of the Labour Party was influenced by christian socialism and by leaders from a nonconformist background, such as Keir Hardie. On the other hand, the Church of England has sometimes been nicknamed "the Conservative Party at prayer".[72]

Today, some minor parties are explicitly 'religious' in ideology: two 'Christian' parties - the Christian Party and the Christian Peoples Alliance, fielded joint candidates at the 2009 European Parliament elections and increased their share of the vote to come eighth, with 249,493 votes (1.6 percent of total votes cast), and in London, where the CPA has three councillors,[73] the Christian parties picked up 51,336 votes (2.9 percent of the vote), up slightly from the 45,038 gained in 2004.[74]

The Church of England retains representation in Parliament through 26 Lords Spiritual who sit in the House of Lords along with the secular Lords Temporal. The Church also has the right to draft legislative measures (usually related to religious administration), through the General Synod, that can be passed into law, but not amended by Parliament. The churches of the Anglican Communion in Ireland and Wales were disestablished in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Prime Minister, regardless of personal beliefs, plays a key role in the appointment of Church of England bishops, although in July 2007 Gordon Brown proposed reforms of the Prime Minister's ability to affect Church of England appointments.[75]

[edit] Religion and the media

The Communications Act 2003 requires certain broadcasters in the UK to carry a "suitable quantity and range of programmes" dealing with religion and other beliefs, as part of their public service broadcasting.[76]

Prominent examples of religious programming include the BBC television programme Songs of Praise, aired on a Sunday evening with an average weekly audience of 2.5 million,[77] and the Thought for the Day slot on BBC Radio 4.

Channels also offer documentaries on, or from the perspective of a criticism of organised religion. A significant example is Richard Dawkins' two-part Channel 4 documentary, The Root of all Evil?.

Open disbelief of, or even mockery of organised religion, is not regarded as a taboo in the British media, though it has occasionally provoked controversy. British comedy in particular has a history of satire and parody on the subject of religion. The most iconic example is the Monty Python film Life of Brian which was widely attacked by Christianity and even banned in many regions of Britain.

[edit] Secularism, tolerance and anti-religious discrimination

A synagogue and mosque side by side in London.

Ecumenical rapprochement has gradually developed between Christian denominations but religious tensions still exist. (See, for example, Sectarianism in Glasgow and Northern Ireland.)

In the early 21st century, the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 made it an offence in England and Wales to incite hatred against a person on the grounds of their religion. The common law offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel were abolished with the coming into effect of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 on 8 July 2008.

There being no strict separation of church and state in the United Kingdom, public officials may in general display religious symbols in the course of their duties - for example, turbans. Chaplains are provided in the armed forces (see Royal Army Chaplains' Department) and in prisons.

Although School uniform codes are generally drawn up flexibly enough to accommodate compulsory items of religious dress, some schools have banned wearing the crucifix, arguing that wearing a crucifix is not a requirement of Christianity, and that necklaces themselves are banned as well, not just crucifixes.[78]

Some polls have shown that public opinion in the United Kingdom generally tends towards a suspicion or outright disapproval of radical or evangelical religiosity, though moderate groups and individuals are rarely subject to injurious treatment.[79]

Some churches have warned that new equality laws being considered could force them to go against their faith when hiring staff.[80]

[edit] Statistics

Several different sets of figures exist which aim to categorise the religious affiliations, beliefs and practices of UK residents. Differences in the wording and context of the questions can give substantially different results. The 2001 census found that 76.8% of the UK population had a religion, with Christianity being the most prevalent (71.6% of respondents described their religion as such),[81] while the British Social Attitudes Survey survey produced by the National Centre for Social Research in the same year reported that 58% considered themselves to "belong to" a religion.[82]

Time series from the British Social Attitudes Survey showing the religion that people consider themselves to belong to.[82]

An Ipsos MORI poll in 2003 reported that 43% considered themselves to be "a member of an organised religion" (18% were "a practising member of an organised religion")[83] An ICM survey in 2006 found that only 33% considered themselves to be "a religious person", with 43% saying they never attended religious services.[84]

A Eurobarometer opinion poll in 2005 reported that 38% "believed there is a God", 40% believe there is "some sort of spirit or life force" and 20% said "I'don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force".[85] A survey in 2007 suggested that 42% of adults resident in the UK prayed, with one in six praying on a daily basis.[86]

The EU-funded European Social Survey to be published in April 2009 has found that only 12% of British people belong to a church.[87]

Religions other than Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism and Judaism have established a presence in the UK, both through immigration and by attracting converts, including the Bahá'í Faith, Rastafari movement and Neopaganism. There are also organisations which promote rationalism, humanism, atheism[88] and secularism. The UK has a large and growing non-religious population with 13,626,000 (23.2% of the UK population) either claiming no religion (15.1%) or not answering the question on religion at the 2001 census.[89]

The 2007 British Social Attitudes Survey, which covers England, Wales and Scotland, but not Northern Ireland, indicated that 20.87% were part of the Church of England, 10.25% non-denominational Christian, 9.01% Roman Catholic, 2.81% Presbyterian/Church of Scotland, 1.88% Methodist, 0.88% Baptist, other Protestant 1.29, URC/Congregational 0.32%, 0.08% Free Presbyterian, Brethren 0.05% and 0.37% other Christian. Among other religions, 3.30% were Muslim, 1.37% Hindu, 0.43% Jewish, 0.37% Sikh and others 0.35%. A large proportion had no religion at 45.67%. 0.50% did not answer or N/A.[90]

A survey in 2002 found Christmas attendance at Anglican churches in England varied between 10.19% of the population in the diocese of Hereford, down to just 2.16% in Manchester.[91] Church attendance at Christmas in some dioceses was up to three times the average for the rest of the year. Overall church attendance at Christmas has been steadily increasing in recent years; a 2005 poll found that 43% expected to attend a church service over the Christmas period, in comparison with 39% and 33% for corresponding polls taken in 2003 and 2001 respectively.[92] In a 2004 YouGov poll, 44 per cent of UK citizens responded affirmatively to the question "Do you believe in God?".[93]

In the UK overall, a Guardian/ICM poll in 2006 found that 33% describe themselves as "a religious person" while 82% see religion as a cause of division and tension between people.[84]

Society in the United Kingdom is markedly more secular than in the past and the number of churchgoers fell over the last half of the 20th century. According to the British Humanist Association 36% of the population is humanist, and may, by the same token, be considered outright atheist.[94] The National Secular Society is among bodies aiming to reduce the influence of religion. According to the 2001 census, however, 71.6% of population declared themselves to be Christian, a further 2.7% as Muslim and 1% as Hindu. Only 15.5% said they had "no religion" and 7.3% did not reply to the question.[95] The problem with interpreting these results is that they do not reveal the intensity of religious belief or non-belief. See also Status of religious freedom in the United Kingdom.

The Tearfund Survey in 2007 found 53% of people in the UK identifying themselves as Christian and only 7% as practising Christians. 10% attend church weekly and two-thirds had not gone to church in the past year.[96][97] The Tearfund Survey also found that two thirds of UK adults (66%) or 32.2 million people have no connection with The Church at present (nor with another religion). These people are evenly divided between those who have been in the past but have since left (16 million) and those who have never been in their lives (16.2 million).

A December 2007 report by Christian Research showed that Roman Catholicism had become the best-attended services of Christian denominations in England, with average attendance at Sunday Mass of 861,000, compared to 852,000 attending Anglican services. Attendance at Anglican services had declined by 20% between 2000 and 2006, while attendance at Catholic services, boosted by large-scale immigration from Poland and Lithuania, had declined by only 13%. In Scotland attendance at Church of Scotland services declined by 19% and attendance at Catholic services fell by 25%.[98]

British Social Attitudes Surveys have shown the proportion of those in Great Britain who consider they "belong to" Christianity to have fallen from 66% in 1983 to 48% in 2006.

The disparity between the 2001 census data and the above polls has been put down to both the decline in religious adherence in the UK since 2001 and a phenomenon of cultural religiosity, whereby many who do not believe in gods still identify with a religion because of its role in their upbringing or its importance to their family.[99]

[edit] Religions in United Kingdom, 2001

Religion in the United Kingdom, 2001[100]
Religion Percent
Christianity
  
 71.8%
None
  
 15.1%
Not stated
  
 7.8%
Islam
  
 2.8%
Hinduism
  
 1.0%
Sikhism
  
 0.6%
Judaism
  
 0.5%
Buddhism
  
 0.3%

The 2001 census contained voluntary questions on religious affiliation. In Scotland and Northern Ireland the census also contained questions on the religion in which a person had been brought up. As a result of comparisons with survey data The Office for National Statistics concluded that the census results for England and Wales were more comparable to the results for religion of upbringing in Scotland and Northern Ireland than for current religious affiliation.[101] At the time the Census was carried out, there was an Internet campaign that encouraged people to record their religion as Jedi or "Jedi Knight". The number of people who stated Jedi was 390,000 (0.7 per cent of the population).[102][103]

In the 2001 Census 71.6% of respondents said that Christianity was their religion,[104] although surveys that employ a "harder" question tend to find lower proportions, such as the 2007 Tearfund Survey which revealed that 53% identified themselves as Christian[96] and the 2007 British Social Attitudes Survey, which found that it was almost 47.5%.[90] However, the Tearfund survey showed only one in ten Britons actually attend church weekly.[105]

In the 2001 census, 9.1 million (15% of the UK population) claimed no religion, with a further 4.3 million (7% of the UK population) not stating a religious preference.[89] There is a disparity between the figures for those identifying themselves with a particular religion and for those proclaiming a belief in a God: a Eurobarometer poll conducted in 2005 showed that 38% of the respondents believed that "there is a God", 40% believed that "there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 20% said "I don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force".[106]

Religion/Denomination Current religion
 Percent
%
Christian 42,079,000 71.6
No religion 9,104,000 15.5
Muslim 1,591,000 2.7
Hindu 559,000 1.0
Sikh 336,000 0.6
Jewish 267,000 0.5
Buddhist 152,000 0.3
Other Religion 179,000 0.3
All religions 45,163,000 76.8
Not Answered 4,289,000 7.3
No religion +
Not Answered		 13,626,000 23.2
Base 58,789,000 100

Source: UK 2001 Census.[81]

[edit] Denominations in Great Britain

Religion/Denomination Percent
%
No religion 45.7
Church of England 20.9
Roman Catholic 9.0
Presbyterian/Church of Scotland 2.8
Methodist 1.9
Other Protestant 2.7
Christian (no denomination) 10.3
Other Christian 0.4
Muslim 3.3
Hindu 1.4
Jewish 0.4
Sikh 0.4
Other Religion 0.4
Refused / NA 0.5

Source: BSA Survey 2007.[82]

[edit] Religions by ethnic group

Ethnic group Christian Buddhist Hindu Jewish Muslim Sikh Other No religion Not stated
White British 75.94% 0.11% 0.01% 0.48% 0.14% 0.01% 0.24% 15.45% 7.62%
White Irish 85.42% 0.19% 0.02% 0.18% 0.14% 0.02% 0.26% 6.35% 7.42%
Other White 62.67% 0.33% 0.09% 2.39% 8.61% 0.04% 0.57% 15.91% 9.38%
Mixed 52.46% 0.70% 0.87% 0.47% 9.72% 0.42% 0.58% 23.25% 11.54%
Indian 4.89% 0.18% 45.00% 0.06% 12.70% 29.06% 1.75% 1.73% 4.63%
Pakistani 1.09% 0.03% 0.08% 0.05% 92.01% 0.05% 0.04% 0.50% 6.16%
Bangladeshi 0.50% 0.06% 0.60% 0.05% 92.48% 0.04% 0.01% 0.43% 5.83%
Other Asian 13.42% 4.85% 26.76% 0.30% 37.31% 6.22% 0.93% 3.44% 6.79%
Black Caribbean 73.76% 0.17% 0.29% 0.10% 0.79% 0.02% 0.59% 11.23% 13.04%
Black African 68.87% 0.07% 0.21% 0.05% 20.04% 0.09% 0.21% 2.31% 8.14%
Other Black 66.61% 0.20% 0.36% 0.13% 5.97% 0.07% 0.65% 12.09% 13.93%
Chinese 25.56% 15.12% 0.07% 0.05% 0.33% 0.03% 0.49% 9.75% 52.60%
Other 32.98% 15.49% 1.32% 1.05% 25.68% 1.02% 0.90% 14.08% 7.48%

Source: UK 2001 Census[107]

[edit] See also

United Kingdom portal
Anglicanism portal

[edit] References

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[edit] External links

[edit] Christianity

[edit] Islam

[edit] Hinduism

[edit] Sikhism

[edit] Buddhism

[edit] Sources

  1. ^ the listing of parishes on this website is disputed: Patriarchal Exarchate for Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western Europe#Parishes and Communities of the Vicariate
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