The Church of England …[yesterday] welcomed the publication of the latest Census figures which confirmed that Christianity remains the largest religion in England in 2011, with 31.5 million people (59.4 per cent of the population) self-identifying as Christians.
“These results confirm that we remain a faithful nation,” said the Rev Arun Arora, Director of Communications for the Archbishop’s Council. “England remains a country where the majority of the nation actively identifies the role that faith plays in their life. Clearly we welcome the fact that Christianity remains the most populous faith in England – with six in ten people identifying themselves as Christian. When all faiths are taken together, people of faith account for two-thirds of the nation – two in every three people identify themselves as having a faith.
“Obviously the fall in those choosing to identify themselves as Christians is a challenge….
33 million Christians in England, and hardly any of them attend a CofE church.
[blockquote] “For instance there are an estimated 28,000 members of British Humanist Association – the same membership as Union of Catholic Mothers, whilst the National Secular Society has an estimated 5,000 – the same as the British Sausage Appreciation Society” [/blockquote]
Good point!
I would prefer the sausages.
In a curious way I feel relieved at the increase in ‘no faith’ for two reasons. First, I think that for generations people with little or no Christian knowledge, faith or practice thought of themselves as ‘C of E’ and could not declare themselves religion-less because, well, it was not the done thing. That is over and past. Second, it drives home the point that Britain today is very, very much mission territory.