Britain is becoming increasingly vulnerable to “dangerous ideologies”, the Bishop of Shrewsbury has said after the latest census revealed that Christians were in the minority for the first time since records began.
The Rt Rev. Mark Davies said that data from the Office for National Statistics showed that Britain is breaking free from its Christian moorings and he warned Catholics that “much is stake” both for the Church and wider society.
His remarks came after a 10-yearly Census revealed that in 2021 a total of 46.2 per cent (27.5 million) of the population of England and Wales described themselves as Christian compared to 59.3 per cent (33.3 million) in 2011.
A description of “no religion” was the second most common response, and was offered by 37.2 per cent of the population (22.2 million people).
Bishop Davies said: “A census indicating little more than 46 per cent of the population now declare themselves Christians while more than 37 per cent say they are without any religion presents a challenge not only to Christians in the task of ‘new evangelisation’ but a profound challenge to British society that is founded and built on Christian values.
“We are witnessing a drift from our Christian moorings more it would seem by default than conviction.
“People cannot live long in a vacuum and if Christianity is not rediscovered as our guiding light then society will increasingly become vulnerable to passing and often dangerous ideologies.
“So much is at stake both for the Church in making Christ known and for society in not losing both its foundation and its bearings.”
His sentiments were echoed by Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth who called upon Catholics to work harder to evangelise the contemporary culture.
He said: “As Catholics we always have a mission ad intra and ad extra: that is evangelising ourselves and deepening our relationship with God, as well as reaching out to those around us to offer them the Gospel.
“Thirty-seven per cent in society say they are ‘nones’,” he said. “This should spur us to reach out to them, to serve and accompany them, to help them pray and to help them encounter Jesus Christ. A figure like this is not just a challenge – it’s a great opportunity.”
The decline in the numbers of people who say they are Christians represents a 13.1 percentage point decrease in the last decade.
People of “no religion” increased by 14.1 million, rising from 25.2 per cent, over the same period, according to the data compiled by the Office for National Statistics.
The census also showed that, while numbers of Christians fell, members of all other major religions increased alongside atheists and agnostics in the same period.
Yet although they are now in a minority, Christians still remain the largest single group of any category.
The Muslim population rose in 10 years from 4.9 per cent to 6.5 per cent (2.7 to 3.9 million), Hindus increased by nearly 200,000, there was an increase in the Sikh population of 100,000 people and the numbers of Jewish people went up by 25,000.
A total of 0.7 per cent of people declared membership of a religion that was unlisted in the survey, with 74,000 saying they were pagans, 13,000 Wicca, 26,000 claiming to be Alevi and 25,000 Jain.
London is the most religiously diverse region of England. A total of 25.3 per cent of residents there reported a religion other than Christianity, representing a 22.6 per cent increase in the last decade.
In comparison, South west England is the least religiously diverse region, where just 3.2 per cent of the population declare a religion other than Christian.
The local authority in England with the highest percentage of people reporting their religion as Christian in 2021 was the Liverpool borough of Knowsley (66.6 per cent).
The most Christian part of Wales was Anglesey and Flintshire in the north of the country, where Christians were still in the majority (both 51.5 per cent).
The areas with the highest percentage of people with no religion were Brighton and Hove in England (55.2 per cent) and Caerphilly for Wales (56.7 per cent).
The religion question was voluntary but was answered by 94 per cent of the overall population of England and Wales, up from 92.9 per cent in 2011.
(Photo by Simon Caldwell)