It’s not news, sadly, that Christianity is dying in England. But the severity of the decline is worse, perhaps, than many have thought. From The Daily Mail:
The study, Religion in Great Britain, concludes: ‘Between the fourth quarter of 2004 and the fourth quarter of 2010, the Christian population fell from 78.0 per cent of the population to 69.4 per cent, while the group of people with no religion grew from 15.7 per cent to 22.4 per cent.
‘If these populations continue to shrink and grow by the same number of people each year, the number of people with no religion will overtake the number of Christians in Great Britain in 20 years, on this measure of religious affiliation.’
The Labour Force Survey asks people what religion they belong to, ‘even if you are not currently practising’ – a form of question which tends actually to underestimate the number who say they are non-believers.
The survey also shows people are more likely to define themselves as Christian the older they are.
Almost 90 per cent over 70 say they are Christian, compared with just over 50 per cent of those aged 30 to 34.
The study states those numbers would be even worse if it weren’t for Christian immigrants. The study is especially notable because of its large sample size, with 50,000 people taking part.
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