Religion survey: over half British people poll no religion

Thursday, September 7th, 2017

A recent poll shows British people are more likely to say they have no religion than ever before.

A random sample of adults were involved in the latest survey. They were asked if they regarded themselves as belonging to a particular religion.

The results show that for people who were born into a religious household, four in 10 are no longer religious.

They also show 53% of Britons now describe themselves as having no religion.

This is up from 48% in 2015 and 31% in 1983, when the the independent National Centre for Social Research began holding British Social Attitudes surveys.

The trend applies across all age groups but is particularly marked among young people. Seventy-one percent of 18-to 24-year-olds surveyed in 2016 said they had no religion, up from 62% the previous year.

The majority of older people still have some faith, with only four in ten of those aged 65 to 74 describing themselves as having no religion. Just over a quarter (27%) of those aged 75 and over reported having no religious faith.

“This increase follows the long-term trend of more and more of us not being religious,” head of public attitudes at the research centre, Roger Harding, says.

The Bishop of Liverpool, Paul Bayes, says the figures bring a “continuing challenge to the churches” in “a sceptical and plural world”.

“Saying ‘no religion’ is not the same as a considered atheism. People see the point of faith when they see the difference faith makes,” he says.

“We need to keep finding ways to show and tell those who say they have ‘no religion’ that faith – faith in the God who loves them still – can make that life-transforming difference for them and for the world.”

The Humanists UK charity says the figures raise fresh questions about the place of churches in the running of state schools and their other state-funded privileges.

Source