And places with a higher proportion of white people also have a bigger proportion with no religion. No state in Europe has such a religious setup as we do in terms of law and public policy, while at the same time having such a non-religious population.”Īnalysis by the Guardian shows areas with a higher proportion of people from ethnic minorities are also more religious. The chief executive of Humanists UK, Andrew Copson, said: “One of the most striking things about these census results is how at odds the population is from the state itself. He added: “We have left behind the era when many people almost automatically identified as Christian but other surveys consistently show how the same people still seek spiritual truth and wisdom and a set of values to live by.” The archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, said the census result “throws down a challenge to us not only to trust that God will build his kingdom on Earth but also to play our part in making Christ known”. It means that over the past 20 years the proportion of people reporting no religion has soared from 14.8% – a rise of more than 22 percentage points. Meanwhile, 37.2% of people – 22.2 million – declared they had “no religion”, the second most common response after Christian. Chart of religions with which people identify

Reveals daily count first million