Census reveals UK is no longer majority-Christian nation, the Church of England as minor

Following the release of census data showing that England is no longer a majority-Christian nation, calls have been made to terminate the church's presence in parliament and educational institutions. Furthermore, Leicester and Birmingham have also become the first cities in the United Kingdom to have "minority majorities." As per the Express report, less than half of the people in England and Wales now identify as Christians.  

Highlighting the population of England and Wales, the census for the first time noted that 27.5 million people have described themselves as "Christians", nearly 5.5 million less than in 2011. This led to demands for immediate changes to the legislation mandating Christian instruction and worship in schools as well as the seating of Church of England bishops in the House of Lords, The Guardian reported.  

Within ten years, there will be more atheists than Christians

Furthermore, the number of Muslims in England and Wales increased from 2.7 million in 2011 to 3.9 million in 2021. 37.2%, or 22 million individuals, indicated themselves with no religion, compared to 46.2% of respondents who identified as Christians. Within ten years, there will be more atheists than Christians if current trends continue. 

With 59.1% of the population in Leicester and 51.4% in Birmingham now belonging to ethnic minorities, making Leicester and Birmingham the first cities in the UK to have "minority majorities", Express reported. Some of the sharpest declines in Christianity were seen in the north of England, where just 50% of individuals identify as Christians today compared to 7 out of 10 a decade ago. 

The town of Caerphilly in Wales has the greatest percentage of residents who do not practice any religion which is nearly 56.7%. 

The ethnic minority has increased from 14% in 2011 to 18.3%, as per the statistics from the 2021 census on ethnicity, religion, as well as language which is published on Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics. Among them, 9.3% of the population is Asian British, an increase from 7.5%; 4% is Black British; 4% is Black Welsh; 3.3% is Caribbean-African, and 5% is made up of mixed and other ethnic groups, The Guardian reported. 

The figures, according to Jon Wroth-Smith, the deputy director of the ONS census, showed "the increasingly multicultural society we live in," but he also noted that "nine in 10 people across England and Wales still identify with a UK national identity, with nearly eight in 10 doing so in London". 

Outside of London, Slough in Berkshire had the largest percentage of non-White residents, followed by Leicester, Luton, and Birmingham. People of two or more ethnicities now make up one in ten families in England and Wales, and the number of mixed-race citizens increased by 500,000 to 1.7 million, but at a slower rate than in the preceding ten years. 

(Image: AP)