Thread by @ONS

We’ve released new #Census2021 data on religion in England and Wales.

46.2% said they were “Christian” – less than half of the population for the first time.

This was a decrease from 59.3% in 2011, but still the most common response.

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37.2% of the population said they had “No religion”, an increase from 25.2% in 2011. This was the second most common response.

6.5% said they were “Muslim”, an increase from 4.9% in 2011.

1.7% said they were “Hindu”, an increase from 1.5% in 2011.

0.5% said they were “Buddhist”, an increase from 0.4% in 2011.

0.5% said they were “Jewish”, the same as in 2011.

0.9% said they were “Sikh”, an increase from 0.8% in 2011.

People could write their religion if it wasn’t listed.

Most common religious written responses:

▪️ “Pagan” – 74,000
▪️ “Alevi” – 26,000
▪️ “Jain” – 25,000

Most common non-religious written responses:

▪️ “Agnostic” – 32,000
▪️ “Atheist” – 14,000
▪️ “Humanist” – 10,000

Compared with England and Wales combined, Wales on its own had a greater:

▪️ decrease in people saying they were “Christian” – from 57.6% in 2011 to 43.6% in 2021
▪️ increase in people saying they had “No religion” – from 32.1% in 2011 to 46.5% in 2021

London was the most religiously diverse region of England – 25.3% reported a religion other than “Christian”.

This figure was 4.2% in the North East and 3.2% in the South West, making them the least religiously diverse regions.

How does religious diversity in your local area compare with the rest of England and Wales? 📍 Use our interactive map to find out 🔎

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