Religious or Not?

Are we Religious or Not?

The guardian today announced that the proportion of population who identify as having no religion rose from 25% in 2011 to 48.5% in 2014.

The number of people who say they have no religion is rapidly escalating and significantly outweighs the Christian population in England and Wales, according to new analysis.

The proportion of the population who identify as having no religion – referred to as “nones” – reached 48.5% in 2014, almost double the figure of 25% in the 2011 census. Those who define themselves as Christian – Anglicans, Catholics and other denominations – made up 43.8% of the population.

Current religious affiliation, %

Anglican

Catholic

Other Christian

Non-Christian religion

No religion

19.8

8.3

15.7

7.7

48.5

50%

Guardian graphic | Source: St Mary’s University, Twickenham, London; BSA 2012-14

A spokesperson for the Church of England said: “The increase in those identifying as ‘no faith’ reflects a growing plurality in society rather than any increase in secularism or humanism. We do not have an increasingly secular society as much as a more agnostic one.

HOWEVER Christianity remains the world’s largest religion with over 2 billion adherents. And.. In the UK the latest census found the overwhelming majority of people to have a faith.

So... Are we Religious or Not?