UK census shows decline in number of Christians

Church of St Peter & St Paul, Shelford

There has been a 20 per cent decline in the number of Christians in the UK over the past ten years, according to new census figures released today by the Office for National Statistics - based on data from 26 million households. Some 59 percent of residents said they were Christian, compared with 72 percent in 2001. A quarter said they had no religion, up from 15 percent a decade earlier.

Responding to the news, a spokesman for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales said: “The overall decrease in the number of self-identifying Christians is consistent with recent social attitude and social value surveys. While this is a challenge, the fact that six out of 10 people in England and Wales self-identify as Christians is not discouraging. Christianity is no longer a Religion of culture, but a Religion of decision and commitment. People are making a positive choice in self-identifying as Christians.

“While precise figures are difficult to determine, polling shows that the Catholic population has remained consistent at 9% of the total population for many years. Ipsos Mori research for CAFOD in 2008 pointed to there being five million Catholics in England and Wales and around one million attend Mass on a weekly basis.

“Catholics play a full part in the country’s social and cultural mix, serving the common good. In the words of Pope Benedict XVI at Westminster Cathedral during his visit in 2010 “How much we need, in the Church and in society, witnesses of the beauty of holiness, witnesses of the splendour of truth, witnesses of the joy and freedom born of a relationship with Jesus Christ.”

Source: UK Gov/CCN/Wiki images