Religion in England

Last updated

Religion in England (2021 census)

   Christianity (46.3%)
   No religion (36.7%)
   Islam (6.7%)
   Hinduism (1.8%)
   Sikhism (0.9%)
   Buddhism (0.5%)
   Judaism (0.5%)
  Other religions (0.6%)
  Religion not stated (6.0%)

Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury and a World Heritage Site. Canterbury-cathedral-wyrdlight.jpg
Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury and a World Heritage Site.

Religion in England is characterised by a variety of beliefs and practices that has historically been dominated by Christianity. Christianity remains the largest religion, though it makes up less than half of the population. As of the 2021 census, there is an increasing variety of beliefs, with irreligious people outnumbering each of the other religions. The Church of England is the nation's established state church, whose supreme governor is the monarch. Other Christian traditions in England include Roman Catholicism, Methodism, Presbyterianism, Mormonism, and the Baptists. After Christianity, the religions with the most adherents are Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism, Buddhism, modern paganism, and the Bahá'í Faith. [2] There are also organisations promoting irreligion, including humanism and atheism. According to the 2021 census, Shamanism is the fastest growing religion in England. [3]

Contents

Many of England's most notable buildings and monuments are religious in nature: Westminster Abbey, Canterbury Cathedral and St Paul's Cathedral. The festivals of Christmas and Easter are widely celebrated in the country.

Statistics

The 2001 and 2011 censuses did not include on adherence to individual Christian denominations, since they were asked only in the Scottish and Northern Ireland censuses and not in England and Wales. [4] However using the same principle as applied in the 2001 census, a survey carried out in the end of 2008 by Ipsos MORI and based on a scientifically robust sample, found the population of England and Wales to be 47.0% affiliated with the Church of England, which is also the state church, 9.6% with the Roman Catholic Church and 8.7% were other Christians, mainly Free church Protestants and Eastern Orthodox. Muslims were 4.8% and 3.4% members of other religions, 5.3% were agnostics, 6.8% were atheists and 15.0% were not sure about their religious affiliation or did not answer the question. [5]

Religion2001 [6] 2011 [7] 2021 [8]
Number%Number%Number%
Christianity 35,251,24471.731,479,87659.426,167,89946.3
No religion 7,171,33214.613,114,23224.720,715,66436.7
Islam 1,524,8873.12,660,1165.03,801,1866.7
Hinduism 546,9821.1806,1991.51,020,5331.8
Sikhism 327,3430.7420,1960.8520,0920.9
Judaism 257,6710.5261,2820.5269,2830.5
Buddhism 139,0460.3238,6260.5262,4330.5
Other religion143,8110.3227,8250.4332,4100.6
Religion not stated3,776,5157.73,804,1047.23,400,5486.0
Total population49,138,831100.053,012,456100.056,490,048100.0

Abrahamic religions

Christianity

Demographics

Historical Population
YearPop.±%
2001 35,251,244—    
2011 31,479,876−10.7%
2021 26,167,899−16.9%
Religious affiliation was not recorded prior to 2001.
British Christians by Ethnic group and Nationality
Ethnic group 2021 [9]
NumberChristians as % of ethnic groupEthnic group as % of Christian
White23,402,34951.12%89.43%
– British 20,506,66749.36%78.37%
– Irish 354,59571.74%1.36%
– Roma 71,26871.89%0.27%
– Irish Traveller 40,35262.84%0.15%
– Other White 2,152,95060.05%8.25%
Mixed611,45436.63%2.34%
– White and Black Caribbean 191,40238.33%0.73%
– White and Asian 130,06127.43%0.50%
– White and Black African 119,37749.43%0.46%
– Other Mixed170,61437.55%0.65%
Asian555,73310.24%2.34%
– Indian 220,68811.97%0.84%
– Pakistani 11,9530.76%0.05%
– Bangladeshi 2,1190.34%0.01%
– Chinese 74,63717.31%0.29%
– Other Asian 246,33625.87%0.94%
Black1,598,36367.11%6.11%
– African967,40565.88%3.69%
– Caribbean 428,15069.12%1.64%
– Other Black202,44868.90%0.77%
Other276,51722.49%1.06%
– Arab 13,2784.15%0.05%
– Other Ethnic group263,23928.96%1.01%

History of Christianity

The illuminated Chi-rho page of the 8th-century Lichfield Gospels. Lichfield monog Christ.jpg
The illuminated Chi-rho page of the 8th-century Lichfield Gospels.

Saint George is recognised as the patron saint of England and the flag of England consists of his cross. Prior to Edward III, the patron saint was St Edmund. St Alban is also honoured as England's first martyr. Other notable saints from the early period of Christianity in England include Saint Ethelbert and Saint Morwenna.

Protestantism

Church of England (Anglicanism)

The established church of the realm is the Church of England, whose supreme governor is the British monarch (currently King Charles III) although in practice the church is governed by its bishops under the authority of Parliament. Twenty-six of the church's 42 bishops are Lords Spiritual, representing the church in the House of Lords. The dioceses of England are divided between the two provinces of Canterbury and York, both of whose archbishops are considered primates. The church regards itself as the continuation of the Catholic church introduced by St Augustine's late 6th-century mission to Kent as part of the Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England, although this is disputed owing to procedural and doctrinal changes introduced by the 16th-century English Reformation, particularly the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion and the Book of Common Prayer. In 2010, the Church of England counted 25 million baptised members out of the 41 million Christians in Great Britain's population of about 60 million; [10] [11] around the same time, it also claimed to baptise one in eight newborn children. [12] Generally, anyone in England may marry or be buried at their local parish church, whether or not they have been baptised in the church. [13] Actual attendance has declined steadily since 1890, [14] with around one million, or 10% of the baptised population attending Sunday services on a regular basis (defined as once a month or more) and three million- roughly 15%- joining Christmas Eve and Christmas services. [15] It has around 18 000 active and ordained clergy. [16]

The Free Church of England is another Anglican denomination which separated from the Church of England in the 19th century in opposition to shifts in doctrine and ceremony which brought the established church closer to Roman Catholicism. The Free Church of England is in communion with the Reformed Episcopal Church in the United States and Canada.

Catholicism

Our Lady of Walsingham Our Lady of Walsingham detail I.JPG
Our Lady of Walsingham

The Catholic Church in England and Wales is directed by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, whose current president is Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster. To highlight the historical Catholic continuity of Nichols' office, dating back to Pope Gregory I's appointment of St. Augustine and that pope's sequent bestowal of the pallium on the appointee, the installation rites of pre-Reformation Catholic Archbishops of Canterbury and earlier Archbishops of Westminster were used at his installation as Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster. [17] [18] [19] The Catholic Church was formerly forbidden from using the names of the Anglican dioceses by the 1851 Ecclesiastical Titles Act. It is divided among five provinces headed by the archbishops of Westminster, Liverpool, Birmingham, and Southwark in England and Cardiff in Wales. The Catholic Church considers itself a continuation of the earliest Celtic Christian communities, although its formal hierarchy needed to be refounded by the Gregorian mission to the Saxon kingdoms in the 6th and 7th centuries and again following the English Reformation. Papal recognition of George III as the legitimate ruler of Great Britain in 1766 opened the way for the Catholic Emancipation, easing and ultimately eliminating the anti-Catholic Penal Laws and Test Acts. This process sometimes faced great popular opposition, as during the 1780 Gordon Riots in London. Daniel O'Connell was the first Catholic member of Parliament. [20] Considering the "actual condition of Catholicism in England," the number of Catholics, and the obstacles "removed which chiefly opposed" it, Pope Pius IX issued in 1850 the bull Universalis Ecclesiae to restore "the normal diocesan hierarchy." [21] More recently, the royal family has been permitted to marry Roman Catholics without fear of being disqualified from succession to the throne. [22] The number of Catholics peaked in the 1960s, but has been on a gradual decline ever since. [23] However, recent immigration from Catholic countries, particularly Poland and Lithuania, has slowed the church's decline. [24] Polling in 2009 suggested there were about 5.2 million Catholics in England and Wales, about 9.6% of the population, [25] concentrated in the northwest. Some studies show that weekly attendance at Catholic masses now exceeds that of the Anglican services. [24]

Other

No other church in England has more than a million members, with most quite small.

A Baptist church in Birmingham, West Midlands. Edwardroadbaptistchurch.jpg
A Baptist church in Birmingham, West Midlands.

Pentecostal churches are growing and, in terms of church attendance, are now third after the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church. [26] There are three main denominations of Pentecostal churches: the Assemblies of God in Great Britain (part of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship), the Apostolic Church, and the Elim Pentecostal Church. Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion is a small society of evangelical churches, founded in 1783, which today has 23 congregations in England. There is also a growing number of independent, charismatic churches that encourage Pentecostal practices at part of their worship, such as Kingsgate Community Church in Peterborough, which started with 9 people in 1988 and now has a congregation in excess of 1,500.

Various forms of Protestantism developed from the ferment of the English Civil War onwards. The Quakers (formally, the Religious Society of Friends) were founded by George Fox in the 1640s. Following the Great Ejection of 1662, about a tenth of Church of England ministers gave up their livings to lead the newly formed dissenting churches. Notable dissenting groups were the Presbyterians, the Independents (or Congregationalists) and the Baptists. In the 18th century some Presbyterians favoured ideas known as Rational Dissent which evolved into, among others, Unitarianism, which still has more than 100 congregations in the 21st century. Methodism developed from the 18th century onwards. The Methodist revival was started in England by a group of men including John Wesley and his younger brother Charles as a movement within the Church of England, but developed as a separate denomination after John Wesley's death. The primary church in England is the Methodist Church of Great Britain. The Salvation Army dates back to 1865, when it was founded in East London by William and Catherine Booth. Its international headquarters are still in London, near St Paul's Cathedral. There is one Mennonite congregation in England, the Wood Green Mennonite Church in London. [27]

The Cathedral of the Dormition of the Most-Holy Mother of God and the Holy Royal Martyrs in Gunnersbury. Russian-orthodox-church-Chiswick-314.JPG
The Cathedral of the Dormition of the Most-Holy Mother of God and the Holy Royal Martyrs in Gunnersbury.

Most Greek Orthodox Church parishes fall under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain, based in London and led by Nikitas, [28] the Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain. Created in 1932, it is the diocese of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople that covers England, Wales and Scotland. A Greek Orthodox community already existed at the time the UK was formed, worshipping in the Imperial Russian Embassy in London. However, it was another 130 years until an autonomous community was set up in Finsbury Park in London, in 1837. The first new church was built in 1850, on London Street in the city. In 1882, St Sophia Cathedral was constructed in London, in order to cope with the growing influx of Orthodox immigrants. By the outbreak of World War I, there were large Orthodox communities in London, Manchester and Liverpool, each focused on its own church. World War II and its aftermath also saw a large expansion among the Orthodox Communities. Today, there are seven churches bearing the title of Cathedral in London as well as in Birmingham (the Dormition of the Mother of God and St Andrew) and Leicester. In addition to these, there are eighty-one churches and other places where worship is regularly offered, twenty-five places (including university chaplaincies) where the divine liturgy is celebrated on a less regular basis, four chapels (including that of the Archdiocese), and two monasteries. [29] As is traditional within the Orthodox Church, the bishops have a considerable degree of autonomy within the Archdiocese. The Greek Orthodox Church of St Nicholas in Toxteth, Liverpool, was built in 1870. It is an enlarged version of St Theodore's church in Constantinople and is a Grade II Listed building.

There are various Russian Orthodox groups in England. In 1962, Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) of Sourozh founded and was for many years the bishop, archbishop and then metropolitan bishop of the diocese of the Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sourozh, the Moscow Patriarchate's diocese for Great Britain and Ireland. [30] It is the most numerous Russian Orthodox group in the country. There are also the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia churches as well as some churches and communities belonging to the Patriarchal Exarchate for Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western Europe's Episcopal Vicariate in the UK.

As well as the Russian and Greek Orthodox churches, there are also the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church all in London as well as a non-canonical Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in Manchester. The Antiochian Orthodox Church have the St. George's Cathedral in London and a number of parishes across England. [31]

All Coptic Orthodox parishes fall under the jurisdiction of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Pope of Alexandria. The Coptic Orthodox Church in Britain and Ireland is divided into three main districts: Ireland, Scotland, and North England; the Midlands and its affiliated areas; and South Wales. In addition, there is one Patriarchal Exarchate at Stevenage, Hertfordshire. Most British converts belong to the British Orthodox Church, which is canonically part of the Coptic Orthodox Church. There is also the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in London. There is also the Armenian Apostolic Church in London.

Islam

Muslim population in English local authority areas. 0.0%-0.9% 1%-1.9% 2%-4.9% 5%-9.9% 10%-19.9% 20+% Islam in England census 2011.svg
Muslim population in English local authority areas.
  0.0%–0.9%
  1%–1.9%
  2%–4.9%
  5%–9.9%
  10%–19.9%
  20+%
The East London Mosque was one of the first mosques in England to be allowed to broadcast the adhan using loudspeakers. Aerial view of East London Mosque complex - Feb 2014.jpg
The East London Mosque was one of the first mosques in England to be allowed to broadcast the adhan using loudspeakers.

According to the 2021 United Kingdom census, 3,801,186 Muslims live in England, or 6.7% of the population. The Muslim population had grown by over a million compared to the 2011 census. [33]

According to the 2011 Census, 2.7 million Muslims live in England where they form 5.0% of the population. [7]

Although Islam is generally thought of as being a recent arrival to the country, there has been contact with Muslims for many centuries. One example is the decision of Offa, the eighth-century King of Mercia (one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms existing at that time), to have coins minted with an Islamic inscription on them—copies of coins issued by the near-contemporary Muslim ruler Al-Mansur. It is thought that they were minted to facilitate trade with the expanding Islamic empire in Spain. [34]

Muslim scholarship was well known among the learned in England by 1386, when Chaucer was writing. In the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales , there is among the pilgrims wending their way to Canterbury, a 'Doctour of Phisyk' whose learning included Razi, Avicenna (Ibn Sina, Arabic ابن سينا) and Averroes (Ibn Rushd, Arabic ابن رشد). Ibn Sina's canon of medicine was a standard text for medical students well into the 17th century.

Today Islam is the second largest religion in England. About 38% of English Muslims live in London, where they make up 12.4% of the population. There are also large numbers of Muslims in Birmingham, Manchester, Bradford, Luton, Slough, Leicester and the mill towns of Northern England such as Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Oldham. [7]

Notable mosques include the East London Mosque, London Central Mosque, Al-Rahma Mosque, Jamea Masjid, Birmingham Central Mosque, Finsbury Park Mosque, Al Mahdi Mosque, London Markaz and Markazi Mosque.

Judaism

Singers Hill Synagogue, Birmingham, England. Singers Hill Synagogue 82.jpg
Singers Hill Synagogue, Birmingham, England.

Until the 20th century, Judaism was the only noticeable non-Christian religion having first appeared in historical records during the Norman Conquest of 1066. In fact, from 1290 to 1656, Judaism did not officially exist in England due to an outright expulsion in 1290 and official restrictions that were not lifted until 1656 (though historical records show that some Jews did come back to England during the early part of the 17th century prior to the lifting of the restriction). Now, the presence of the Jewish culture and Jews in England today is one of the largest in the world.

Baháʼí Faith

The Baháʼí Faith started with the earliest mentions of the predecessor of the Baháʼí Faith, the Báb, in The Times on 1 November 1845, only a little over a year after the Báb first stated his mission. [35] Today there are Baháʼí communities across the country from Carlisle [36] to Cornwall. [37]

Dharmic religions

Hinduism

BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in London, United Kingdom is the largest Hindu temple in England. Neasden Temple - Shree Swaminarayan Hindu Mandir - Gate.jpg
BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in London, United Kingdom is the largest Hindu temple in England.

Early Hindus in England were mostly students during the 19th century. There have been three waves of migration of Hindus to England since then.

Before India's Independence in 1947, Hindu migration was minuscule and largely temporary. The second wave of Hindu migration occurred in the 1970s after the expulsion of Hindus from Uganda. Initially, Hindu immigration was limited to Punjabi and Gujarati Hindus, but, by 2000, small Hindu communities of every ethnicity could be found in England. England is also host to a large immigrant community of Sri Lankan Hindus who are mostly Tamils. The last wave of migration of Hindus has been taking place since the 1990s with refugees from Sri Lanka and professionals from India. However, there is becoming an increasing number of English Western Hindus in England, who have either converted from another faith or been an English Hindu from birth.

Sikhism

The first Sikh Gurdwara (temple) was established in 1911, at Putney in London.

The first Sikh migration came in the 1950s. It was mostly of men from the Punjab seeking work in industries like foundries and textiles. These new arrivals mostly settled in London, Birmingham and West Yorkshire. Thousands of Sikhs from East Africa soon followed. This mass immigration was caused by Idi Amin's persecution of ethnic groups in Uganda, with thousands forced to flee the region in fear of losing their lives.[ citation needed ]

Buddhism

Buddhist peace pagoda at Battersea Park, London Batterseaparkpeacepagoda.jpg
Buddhist peace pagoda at Battersea Park, London

The earliest Buddhist influence on England came through the UK's imperial connections with South East Asia, and as a result the early connections were with the Theravada traditions of Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand. 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.

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 the 1970s, a Theravāda monastic order consists mainly of Westerners following the Thai Forest Tradition of Ajahn Chah was established at Chithurst Buddhist Monastery in West Sussex, and also established branches monasteries elsewhere in the country.

Modern paganism

Modern druids at Stonehenge. Druids, in the early morning glow of the sun.jpg
Modern druids at Stonehenge.

At the 2011 census 75,281 [38] people in England identified as Pagan, doubling compared to the figures of the 2001 census. Paganism in England is dominated by Wicca, founded in England itself, the modern movement of Druidry, and forms of Heathenry.

Paganism in England
Pagan Religions2011 [9] 2021 [39]
Paganism/Modern pagan religions83,76295,931
– Pagan 53,17268,629
– Wicca 11,02611,952
– Heathen 1,8674,479
– Druid 3,9462,269
– Witchcraft1,193975
– Shamanism 6127,623

Wicca

Wicca was developed in England in the first half of the 20th century. [40] Although it had various terms in the past, from the 1960s onward the name of the religion was normalised to Wicca. [41]

Heathenry

Heathenry is a modern revival of Germanic paganism such as that practised in the British Isles by the Anglo-Saxon and Norse peoples prior to Christianisation. In the 2011 Census, 1867 people identified specifically as 'Heathen' in addition to those who identified more broadly as 'Pagan'. [38] The largest inclusive Heathen organisation that operates in England is Asatru UK, although lacking official membership statistics, as of February 2022 had 3177 members of its Facebook group. [42]

Druidism

During the Iron Age, Celtic polytheism was the predominant religion in the area now known as England. Neo-Druidism grew out of the Celtic revival in 18th-century Romanticism. The 2011 census states there are 4,189 Druids in England and Wales. [43] A 2012 analysis by the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids estimates that there are between 6,000 and 11,000 Druids in Britain. [44]

Other religions

Other religions include: [45]

Other religion 2011 [46] 2021 [47]
Spiritualism and new religious movements67,66678,851
– Spiritualism 149,36160,912
– Rastafari 7,6575,802
– Satanism 1,8004,751
– Pantheism 2,1052,158
– Scientology 2,3611,833
– Animism 487733
– Universalism 862721
– Occult 474457
– New Age 665373
– Eckankar 367319
– Brahma Kumaris 434229
– Thelemite 176209
– Unification Church 435195
– Mysticism 192137
– Church of all Religions38022
Indian Religions31,23835,485
– Jainism 20,19324,887
– Ravidassia 11,0459,564
– Valmiki 1,034
Alevism 25,460
Mixed Religion(s)21,90710,981
Iranian Religions8,8018,910
– Bahá'í Faith 4,7464,489
– Zoroastrianism 4,0554,029
– Yazidism 392
East Asian Religions5,2475,287
– Taoism 3,9163,525
– Shinto 1,0411,337
– Chinese Religions174109
– Confucianism 11676
Other religions21,06071,760
– Theism 23,6183,143
– Own Belief System1,8422,067
– Deism 1,1421,036
– Reconstructionism223697
– Traditional African religion 584651
– Druze 504619
– Vodon 198246
– Native American Church 11974
– Other religions12,83063,227
Total population155,919217,804
1 includes people who reported "spiritual"
2 includes people who reported "Believe in God"

Historical religions

Statue of Epona, a Celtic goddess adopted by the Romans Epona Auxois.jpg
Statue of Epona, a Celtic goddess adopted by the Romans

These faiths, all of which are considered to be pagan, have all been predominant in the regions that later made up England, though were all made extinct through Christianisation.[ citation needed ]

Gallo-Roman religion

Gallo-Roman religion formed when the Roman Empire invaded and occupied the Brythonic peoples. Elements of the native Brythonic Celtic religion such as the druids, the Celtic priestly caste who were believed to originate in Britain, [48] were outlawed by Claudius, [49] and in 61 they vainly defended their sacred groves from destruction by the Romans on the island of Mona (Anglesey). [50] However, under Roman rule the Britons continued to worship native Celtic deities, such as Ancasta, but often conflated with their Roman equivalents, like Mars Rigonemetos at Nettleham. The founding of a temple to Claudius at Camulodunum was one of the impositions that led to the revolt of Boudica.

Eastern cults such as Mithraism also grew in popularity towards the end of the occupation. The Temple of Mithras is one example of the popularity of mystery religions among the rich urban classes.

Germanic paganism

In the Early Middle Ages, immigrants from the European continent arrived, bringing Anglo-Saxon paganism, a subset of Germanic paganism, with them. Later, after most of the Anglo-Saxon peoples had converted to Christianity, Vikings from Scandinavia arrived, bringing with them Norse paganism.

Notable places of worship

The varied religious, denominational, racial, and ethnic history of England has left a wide range of religious buildings—churches, cathedrals, chapels, chapels of ease, synagogues, mosques, gurdwaras, shrines, temples, and kingdom halls. Besides its spiritual importance, the religious architecture includes buildings of importance to the tourism industry and local pride. As a result of the Reformation, the ancient cathedrals remained in the possession of the then-established churches, while most Roman Catholic churches date from Victorian times or are of more recent construction (in Liverpool the ultra-modern Roman Catholic cathedral was actually completed before the more traditional Anglican cathedral, whose construction took most of the twentieth century). Notable places of worship include (but are not limited to):

Irreligion

36.7% of people in England declared no religion in 2021, compared with 24.7% in 2011 and 14.6% in 2001. These figures are slightly lower than the combined figures for England and Wales as Wales has a higher level of irreligion than England. [7] Brighton and Hove had the highest such proportion at 55.2%, followed by Norwich at 53.5%, Bristol and Hastings at 51.4% [51]

Irrelgious by Ethnic group and Nationality
Ethnic group 2021 [9]
Number% of ethnic group reported no religion
White19,156,45841.84
– British 18,104,21743.58
– Irish 105,73621.39
– Roma 17,33717.59
– Irish Traveller 18,12028.22
– Other White 911,04825.41
Asian481,2828.87
– Indian 83,1094.51
– Pakistani 18,1491.16
– Bangladeshi 9,0241.43
– Chinese 269,09262.41
– Other Asian 101,90810.70
Black202,9358.52
– African52,8213.60
– Caribbean 115,14418.59
– Other Black34,97011.90
Mixed726,42943.51
– White and Black Caribbean 256,37651.35
– White and Asian 221,50546.71
– White and Black African 79,26332.82
– Other Mixed169,28537.26
Other148,56212.09
– Arab 15,4054.81
– Other Ethnic group133,15714.65
TOTAL20,715,66436.7

See also

Related Research Articles

This is an index page of Wikipedia articles related to the topic of religion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Place of worship</span> Specially designed structure for use in

A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is sometimes called a house of worship. Temples, churches, mosques, and synagogues are examples of structures created for worship. A monastery may serve both to house those belonging to religious orders and as a place of worship for visitors. Natural or topographical features may also serve as places of worship, and are considered holy or sacrosanct in some religions; the rituals associated with the Ganges river are an example in Hinduism.

Religion in the United Kingdom is mainly expressed in Christianity, which dominated the land since the 7th century. Results of the 2021 Census for England and Wales showed that Christianity is the largest religion, followed by the non-religious, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Among Christians, Anglicanism is the most common denomination, followed by Catholicism, Presbyterianism, Methodism, Unitarianism, and Baptism. Results for the 2022 census in Scotland showed that 38.8% of the Scottish population identified as Christian, with 20.4% stating that the Church of Scotland is their main religion, whilst 13.3% stated their main religion was the catholic church in Scotland.

Modern-day Birmingham's cultural diversity is reflected in the wide variety of religious beliefs of its citizens. In the 2021 census, 70% of residents identified themselves as belonging to a particular faith, while 24% stated they had no religion and a further 6% did not answer the question.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Australia</span>

Religion in Australia is diverse. In the 2021 national census, 43.9% of Australians identified with Christianity and 38.9% declared "no religion".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Europe</span>

Religion has been a major influence on the societies, cultures, traditions, philosophies, artistic expressions and laws within present-day Europe. The largest religion in Europe is Christianity. However, irreligion and practical secularisation are also prominent in some countries. In Southeastern Europe, three countries have Muslim majorities, with Christianity being the second-largest religion in those countries. Ancient European religions included veneration for deities such as Zeus. Modern revival movements of these religions include Heathenism, Rodnovery, Romuva, Druidry, Wicca, and others. Smaller religions include Indian religions, Judaism, and some East Asian religions, which are found in their largest groups in Britain, France, and Kalmykia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Portugal</span>

Christianity is the predominant religion in Portugal, with Catholicism being its largest denomination.

London has centres of worship for many faiths. According to the 2021 Census, the largest religions are Christianity (40.66%), followed by Atheism (27.05%), Islam (14.99%), no response (7%), Hinduism (5.15%), Judaism (1.65%), Sikhism (1.64%), Buddhism (1.0%), and others (0.9%). Compared to the previous census, the most noticeable changes are that Christianity decreased whereas Atheism increased.

Christianity is the largest religion in Northern Ireland. In the 2021 census, 79.7% of the Northern Irish population identified as Christians: Catholic (42.3%); Presbyterian (16.6%); Church of Ireland (11.5%); Methodist (2.4%); Other Christian (6.9%). Meanwhile, 1.3% of the population belonged to other religions, 17.4% stated they were non-religious and 1.5% did not state a religious or non-religious identity. The Catholic Church has seen a small growth in adherents, while the other recorded Christian groups have seen a decrease.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Scotland</span>

As of the 2022 census, None was the largest category of belief in Scotland, chosen by 51.1% of the Scottish population identifying when asked: "What religion, religious denomination or body do you belong to?" This represented an increase from the 2011 figure of 36.7%. 38.8% identified as Christian with most of them declaring affiliation with the Church of Scotland and the Catholic Church. The only other religious persuasions with more than 1% affiliation were 'Other Christian' and Muslim at 5.1% and 2.2% of the total population, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Ethiopia</span>

Religion in Ethiopia consists of a number of faiths. Among these mainly Abrahamic religions, the most numerous is Christianity totaling at 67.3%, followed by Islam at 31.3%. There is also a longstanding but small Ethiopian Jewish community. Some adherents of the Baháʼí Faith likewise exist in a number of urban and rural areas. Additionally, there is also a substantial population of the adherents of traditional faiths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Uganda</span>

Christianity is the predominant religion in Uganda. According to the 2014 census, over 84 percent of the population was Christian, while about 14 percent of the population adhered to Islam, making it the largest minority religion. Anglicanism and Catholicism are the main Christian denominations in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Ukraine</span>

Christianity is the predominant religion in Ukraine, with 85% of the population identifying as Christian according to a 2022 survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS). Seventy-two percent of the population avowed fidelity to an Eastern Orthodox Church: 54% of Ukrainians proclaimed adherence to the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine; 14% identified as Orthodox Christian without specifying a church affiliation; 4% associated with the Moscow Patriarchate. Another 9% of Ukrainians professed devotion to the Catholic Church in Ukraine: 8% Ukrainian Greek Catholics and 1% Latin Catholics. Two percent of the population declared affiliation to a mainstream Protestant Church, and a further 2% identified with some alternative sect of Christianity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Belize</span>

Christianity is the dominant religion in Belize. The single largest denomination is the Catholic Church with about 40.1% of the population, a reduction from 49.6% of the population in 2000, 57.7% in 1991 and 61.9% in 1980, although absolute numbers have still risen. Other major groups include Pentecostal with 8.4% of the population up from 7.4% in 2000 and 6.3% in 1991, Seventh-day Adventists with 5.4% of the population up from 5.2% in 2000 and 4.1% in 1991. The following of the Anglican Church has been steadily declining, with only 4.7% of the population in 2010 compared to 6.95% in 1991. About 12,000 Mennonites live mostly in the rural districts of Cayo and Orange Walk. People who declared they belong to no religion make up 15.5% of the population in 2010, more than double their 2000 census numbers. 11.2% adhere to other religions which include the Maya religion, Afro-Caribbean religions, Mormons, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Baháʼís, Rastafarians and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Kenya</span>

Christianity is the dominant religion in Kenya, adhered to by an estimated 85.5% of the total population. Islam is the second largest religion in Kenya, practiced by 10.9 percent of Kenyans. Other faiths practiced in Kenya are Baháʼí, Buddhism, Hinduism and traditional religions.

According to various polls, the majority of Kazakhstan's citizens, primarily ethnic Kazakhs, identify as Sunni Muslims.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Louisville, Kentucky</span> Overview of religion in Louisville, Kentucky

Religion in Louisville, Kentucky includes religious institutions of various faiths including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism.

Database (WCD) 2010 and International Religious Freedom Report for 2012 of the U.S. Department of State. The article Religions by country has a sortable table from the Pew Forum report.

Religion in Sussex has been dominated over the last 1,400 years by Christianity. Like the rest of England, the established church in Sussex is the Church of England, although other Christian traditions exist. After Christianity, the religion with the most adherents is Islam, followed by Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and Sikhism.

References

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  2. ↑ "Religion (2019)". ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  3. ↑ "Shamanism: What you need to know about the fastest-growing 'religion' in England and Wales". 5 January 2023.
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  6. ↑ "Religion (2001 Census)". data.gov.uk. 9 February 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
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  10. ↑ Gledhill, Ruth (15 February 2007). "Catholics set to pass Anglicans as leading UK church". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 18 September 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
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  12. ↑ "2009 Church Statistics" (PDF). Church of England. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  13. ↑ See the pages linked from "Life Events". Church of England. Archived from the original on 22 November 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2015..
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  17. ↑ Elenna Curti and Christopher Lamb, "Cathedral countdown to installation," The Tablet, 16 May 2009, 39.
  18. ↑ Lucy Wooding, "Binding Identities," The Tablet, 26 June 2011, 26.
  19. ↑ "Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols is made cardinal," The Telegraph, 22 February 2014.
  20. ↑ Bishop, Erin I. 'My Darling Danny': Letters from Mary O'Connell to Her Son Daniel, 1830–1832. Cork: Cork University Press, 1998
  21. ↑ William Maziere Brady, Annals of the Catholic Hierarchy in England and Scotland A.D. 1585-1876 (London: J.M. Stark, 1883).
  22. ↑ "Royal nod for daughters, Catholics". The Age. Melbourne. 29 October 2011.
  23. ↑ Hayward, John. "Roman Catholic England & Wales 2000–2020". Churchmodel.org. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  24. 1 2 Wynne-Jones, Jonathan (23 December 2007). "Britain has become a 'Catholic country'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  25. ↑ "Numbers Game," The Tablet, 31 October 2009, 16.
  26. ↑ 'Fringe' Church winning the believers [ dead link ]The Times, 19 December 2006(subscription required)
  27. ↑ "Who are the Mennonites?". London Mennonite Centre. Retrieved 5 September 2008.[ dead link ]
  28. ↑ "Current Hierarchs of the Archdiocese of Great Britain". Orthodox Research Institute. 2008. Archived from the original on 16 March 2002. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
  29. ↑ Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira & Great Britain (21 April 2000). "The Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain and Orthodoxy in the British Isles". Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
  30. ↑ "Welcome". Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sourozh. Archived from the original on 23 June 2008. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
  31. ↑ "Parishes, Missions and Clergy". Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch Deanery of the United Kingdom and Ireland. 2008. Retrieved 5 September 2008.[ permanent dead link ]
  32. ↑ Eade, John (1996). "Nationalism, Community, and the Islamization of Space in London". In Metcalf, Barbara Daly (ed.). Making Muslim Space in North America and Europe . Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN   0520204042 . Retrieved 24 April 2015. The mosque committee was determined from the outset, moreover, to remind local people of the building's religious function as loudly as possible. As one of the few mosques in Britain permitted to broadcast calls to prayer (azan), the mosque soon found itself at the center of a public debate about "noise pollution" when local non-Muslim residents began to protest.
  33. ↑ "Religion, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  34. ↑ Gold imitation dinar of Offa Archived 12 September 2012 at archive.today , British Museum
  35. ↑ Baháʼí Information Office (United Kingdom) (1989). "First Public Mentions of the Baháʼí Faith". Archived from the original on 26 February 2008. Retrieved 18 February 2008.
  36. ↑ The Baháʼí Faith in Cumbria Archived 22 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine bci.org accessed 6 January 2009
  37. ↑ Welcome to the Baháʼís of Cornwall website of Cornish Baháʼís, accessed. 6 January 2009
  38. 1 2 2011 ONS results
  39. ↑ "Religion, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics".
  40. ↑ Hutton, Ronald (1999). The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft . Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press. p.  vii. ISBN   0-19-820744-1.
  41. ↑ Seims, Melissa (2008). "Wica or Wicca? – Politics and the Power of Words". The Cauldron (129).
  42. ↑ Asatru UK | Facebook Available at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/AsatruUK/members [Accessed February 13, 2022]
  43. ↑ Robert Booth (11 December 2012). "Census 2011 data on religion reveals Jedi Knights are in decline". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  44. ↑ "UK 2011 Census Publishes Figures for Druids". The Order of Bards Ovates & Druids. Archived from the original on 13 June 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  45. ↑ Simon Rogers (11 December 2012). "Census 2011: how many Jedi Knights are there in England & Wales?". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  46. ↑ "Data Viewer - Nomis - Official Census and Labour Market Statistics".
  47. ↑ "Religion (Detailed) - Office for National Statistics".
  48. ↑ Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 6.13
  49. ↑ Suetonius, Claudius 12.5
  50. ↑ Tacitus, Annals 14.30
  51. ↑ "Religion, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics".

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