How religious are the British?
Not much at all – as revealed by a new survey commissioned by the “Observer” newspaper of social attitudes in Britain:
Which of the following religions or belief systems, if any, do you associate with?
Church of England = 33%
Catholicism = 10%
Other Christian = 9%
Islam = 3%
Hinduism = 2%
Judaism = 1%
Other religion = 3%
Agnosticism = 17%
Atheism = 21%Do you actively practise your religion, eg you attend regular religious services?
Yes = 29%
No = 71%
Base: all who associate with a religion“Britain is a largely secular country with only 18% actively practising a religion and one in five (21%) describing themselves as atheist. A further 17% describe themselves as agnostic. Only one in three Britons (33%) associates with the Church of England. Among this group only 18% actively practise their religion. This equates to just 6% of the nation. In total, 61% of Britons associate with a religion but it is only a minority of that group (29%) who actively practise their religion. Muslims are most likely to actively practise their religion (59%).
There are big differences on the basis of ideological outlook. Those who self-define as left wing are significantly less likely to associate with a religion than those who define their outlook as right wing (49% and 71% respectively). However, while 65% of leftwingers who associate with a religion actively practise it, the same is true for just 33% of rightwingers and 26% of centrists.
A majority of Britons (82%) do not actively practise a religion and a clear majority of the population (61%) agree with that “These days religion is a negative influence in the world rather than a force for good.” Unsurprisingly, those who associate with a religion are less likely to hold this view.”