To what extent has Britain become a less Christian society?
“There is little doubt that a substantial change has taken place, with a marked decline in the proportion who describe themselves as belonging to a particular religion. In 1983, around two in three people (68 per cent) considered themselves to belong to one religion or another; in 2012, only around half (52 per cent) do so.
… this decline is in practice a decline in attachment to Anglicanism; in 1983 two in five people (40 per cent) said they were Anglican, and the Church of England could still reasonably lay claim to being England’s national church (and thus, arguably, to some extent its fount of moral authority). But now only 20 per cent do so.
In contrast, the proportion saying they belong to a religion other than Christianity has tripled from two to six per cent. Britain’s religious landscape has not only become smaller but also more diverse.”
This is an extract from a new study of social attitudes in Britain conducted by NatCen Social Research. You can access more information on the research here.