Christians a minority in the UK, newly published data reveals

Christians make up a minority of the UK population, newly published data reveals.

Statistics from the Office for National Statistics based on the most recent censuses show 46.6% of the UK described themselves as 'Christian' in 2021, a 12.9 percentage point decrease from 59.5% in 2011.

Those with no religion increased from 25.5% in 2011 to 37.65% in 2021.

Muslims make up 5.97% of the population, with Hindus representing 1.59%. In the case of 5.92% of the population, religion was 'not stated' in their census response.

Separate censuses are carried out for England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The censuses for England and Wales and for Northern Ireland were carried out on 21 March 2021. Scotland's Census was conducted on 20 March 2022.

The data provides an image of how UK census data may have looked if the most recent UK censuses had been conducted with an aligned date.

The National Secular Society said the collated figures further underlined the changing beliefs of the UK revealed in the individual censuses, and the need to separate religion and state.

Research from last year also illustrated changing attitudes towards Christianity, with just 19% of British people thinking it "very" or "fairly" important to be Christian to be "truly British" – a drop of five percentage points since 2013.

NSS: Fundamental reforms needed to respect reality of UK population

NSS spokesperson Jack Rivington said: "These statistics are another illustration of a population continuing to dramatically move away from Christianity – and from religion as a whole.

"Faced with such changes, the Church of England's deep intertwining with the UK's constitution is becoming increasingly unfair, undemocratic, and unsustainable.

"We are no longer a Christian nation. Fundamental reforms are needed for the UK to become a true secular democracy – one that respects the reality of our irreligious and diverse people."