We are halfway through the season of Advent, when Christians look forward to the return of Jesus Christ and also start celebrating Christmas, his first time on Earth. Unfortunately, according to the 2011 Census results just released, there are more than four million fewer Christians celebrating now than ten or so years ago.
It seems somewhat careless for the Church to lose so many believers and rather a setback– and does it mean that in politics we need pay less attention to faith?
The census asked the voluntary question, “What is your religion?”. In 2001, 71.7% replied they were Christian. In 2011, that figure had fallen to 59.3%. Meanwhile, those declaring themselves of no religion (not necessarily the same thing as being atheist) rose from 14.1% to 25.1%.
The ONS notes that the 2011 Census data are similar to other surveys of religious belief: it quotes the 2011 Annual Population Survey which showed 63.1% of the population is Christian, 4.8% Muslim, and 27.9% have no religion.
Much depends on how you view the 2001 figures and so the difference in 2011. It was not the case that in 2001, 71.7% of people were regular churchgoers and neither in 2011 was 59.3% of the population. The data measure religious affiliation, not activism. What we might call active Christians, those who attend church, have always formed a smaller, but still significant, proportion of the population.
For example, in 2007, Tear Fund, a Christian international development charity, conducted a survey (of 7,000 people) which found 15% of adults attended church at least once a month, with 10% attending weekly (this would equate to almost 5 million), and 26% attended at least once a year, equivalent to 12.6 million (the survey found 53% of adults called themselves Christians).
Demos, in its Faithful Citizens report published this year, found 13% of people said they belonged to a church or religious organisation (which includes other faiths). Continue reading
Sources
- Stephen Beer in Left Foot Forward
- Image: The Guardian
Stephen Beer is the political communications officer of the Christian Socialist Movement, the organisation for Christians in the Labour Party
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