Religion in today’s Britain

Although Britain has historically been Christian, it is today a multi-faith country as a result of immigration. In a diverse and complex religious make-up of 170 distinct religions, everyone in the UK has the right to religious freedom. The European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998 guarantee this freedom. Religion in Britain has suffered an immense general decline since the 1950s. Between 1979 and 2005, half of all Christians stopped going to church on a Sunday. All indicators show a continued secularisation of British society in line with other European countries. In the twenty years between 1980 and 2000 the Church of England suffered a 27% decline in church membership. The Roman Catholic Church suffered a similar decline in the same period in mass attendance. Methodists, Baptists and other churches also suffered decline. The only institutional church that has continued to grow has been the Orthodox Church mainly because of immigration from Orthodox countries such as Russia. The 2011 Census considered as the most complete source of information about the population shows that minority and alternative religions are steadily growing. It also shows that less than half of the British people believe in a God. Ignorance of religion The British public, both adults and children, are almost wholly ignorant of the basic facts surrounding Christianity and other world religions. The Report on Religious Education in Schools 2007 states that there is a problem even with teachers' insufficient knowledge of religious education at primary schools. Church attendance is low in the UK 10% of the UK adult population go to church at least weekly. 15% attend church at least monthly. 26% attend church at least yearly. 59% never or practically never go to church. Decline in religious observance In five decades, the number of people with no religion in Britain has grown from just 3% of the population to nearly half. If the trends continue the Church of England will face massive decline by the end of the century. There is a mass move towards atheism and agnosticism in Britain. The average age is highest for Anglicans (53.7 years) and lowest for those with no religion, (43.3 years). The churches do need to find a way to keep their young people if they are going to survive.