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

"In today's world, I believe extreme poverty and inequality are unjustifiable and unfair, and that's why I am taking part. Live Below the Line demonstrates the problem in a concrete way, while raising money to address the problem," said Bishop Duckworth.

"As a family, we took part last year, and it was amazing how much time we spent thinking about food. It made us realise how much we take our abundance of food for granted. Because Live Below the Line is over five days, it connects us in solidarity with the poor. It is no easy task as you wrestle with what you are going to put on the plate every day. It is humbling to realise that this is the daily reality for more than 1.4bn people in our world living in extreme poverty."

Live Below the Line is an initiative of the Global Poverty Project, an education and campaigning organisation whose mission is to increase the number and effectiveness of people taking action against extreme poverty.

In 2012, Live Below the Line is running in New Zealand, the UK, Australia and the USA, with more than 20,000 people spending 5 days living below the line.

Last year, Global Poverty Project's Live Below the Line was held in NZ for the first time.

Source

• Scoop
• Image: Suff.co.nz