Two-thirds of Britons not religious, suggests survey

John McManus for BBC News

21 March 2011

Nearly two-thirds of people do not regard themselves as "religious", a new survey carried out to coincide with the 2011 Census suggests. The British Humanist Association (BHA), which commissioned the poll, said people often identified themselves as religious for cultural reasons. The online poll asked 1,900 adults in England and Wales a question which is on this month's census form.

While 61% of the poll's respondents said they did belong to a religion, 65% of those surveyed answered "no" to the further question: "Are you religious?" Two surveys were commissioned, one covering England and Wales, and the other for Scotland. The Scottish survey was commissioned by the Humanist Society of Scotland. South of the border, 61% of respondents said they did have a religion. But only 29% also said they were religious, while 65% said they were not. Among respondents who identified themselves as Christian, fewer than half said they believed Jesus Christ was a real person who died, came back to life and was the son of God. Another 27% said they did not believe that at all, while 25% were unsure. In Scotland, 42% of respondents said they did not belong to a religion, yet in a further question "Are you religious?" 56% answered "no". The BHA has complained the wording of the optional census question about religion encourages people to wrongly identify themselves as believers. In the last census in 2001, 72% of people were classed as Christians - a figure which is much higher than other surveys. The BHA believes people might tick "yes" to the census question on religion for reasons of cultural identity.

The chief executive of the BHA, Andrew Copson, is running a national campaign encouraging non-religious people to state their unbelief clearly on their census forms.He said: "This poll is further evidence for a key message of the Census Campaign - that the data produced by the census, used by local and national government as if it indicates religious belief and belonging, is in fact highly misleading. The humanists say data which might indicate a greater amount of religious belief than actually exists, is being used to justify faith schools, and the continuing presence of Anglican bishops in the House of Lords. The Office for National Statistics has defended the wording of the religion question. A spokesman told the BBC: "The religion question measures the number of people who self-identify an affiliation with a religion, irrespective of the extent of their religious belief or practice." The think tank Theos, which undertakes research into religious matters, says attempting to measure cultural affiliation to religion - rather than actual, regular practice - is a good idea, as it shows the broad values society shares. It also disputes the BHA's assertion that the collected data is used for political purposes.

[I never really trust statistics – at least not from various surveys attempting to discover the religious make-up of the country. They all come back with different figures which makes me believe that none of them are representative. From personal experience I know very few people who would come out and declare their faith in any of the major religions. Of course this might be very much a self-selecting group and religion is never a common topic for discussion. Faith, of any kind, is usually seen as a personal issue and is hardly discussed even amongst friends. Pushing a religious position is considered to be rude and maybe even the height of rudeness. What the true level of faith is in England is anyone’s guess. Personally I find it difficult to believe that 72% of the population believe in God. I find it almost as difficult to believe that 65% do not. I do think that non-belief is on the rise though. Generation by generation less people throughout Europe attend church, get baptised, join religious orders, and just about any other way of measuring religious observance. All of the indicators are, apparently irresistibly, on a downward trend. Long may it continue.]