In 2021, the largest religion in England and Wales was Christianity, with approximately 27.52 million adherents. Although Christianity was the largest religion, the number of followers has declined when compared with ten years earlier, when there were almost 33.27 million Christians.

Census 2021 data on religion by economic activity status, by sex, by age, and religion by occupation, by sex, by age, England and Wales combined. This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify usual residents in England and Wales by ethnic group. The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021.

The religion people connect or identify with (their religious affiliation), whether or not they practise or have belief in it.
This question was voluntary and the variable includes people who answered the question, including “No religion”, alongside those who chose not to answer this question.

Total counts for some population groups may not match between published tables. This is to protect the confidentiality of individuals' data. Population counts have been rounded to the nearest 5 and any counts below 10 are suppressed, this is signified by a 'c' in the data tables.

This dataset shows population counts for usual residents aged between 16 to 64 years old only. This is to focus on religious affiliation differences among the working age. Population counts in these tables may be different from other publications which use different age breakdowns.

Quality notes can be found here

Quality information about Labour Market can be found here

The Standard Occupation Classification 2020 code used can be found here

Religion

The 8 ‘tickbox’ religious groups are as follows:

• Buddhist
• Christian
• Hindu
• Jewish
• Muslim
• No religion
• Sikh
• Other religion

The statistic shows religion membership in the United Kingdom in 2011. In 2011, 71.6 percent of the total population of the UK identified themselves as Christians.

As of January 2025, approximately 35 percent of people in Great Britain said that they believed in a God / Gods, compared with 32 percent who had no belief in God / Gods at all.

This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify usual residents in England and Wales by religion. The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021.

Area type

Census 2021 statistics are published for a number of different geographies. These can be large, for example the whole of England, or small, for example an output area (OA), the lowest level of geography for which statistics are produced.

For higher levels of geography, more detailed statistics can be produced. When a lower level of geography is used, such as output areas (which have a minimum of 100 persons), the statistics produced have less detail. This is to protect the confidentiality of people and ensure that individuals or their characteristics cannot be identified.

Coverage

Census 2021 statistics are published for the whole of England and Wales. Data are also available in these geographic types:

• country - for example, Wales
• region - for example, London
• local authority - for example, Cornwall
• health area – for example, Clinical Commissioning Group
• statistical area - for example, MSOA or LSOA

Religion (10 categories)

The religion people connect or identify with (their religious affiliation), whether or not they practice or have belief in it.

This question was voluntary and includes people who identified with one of 8 tick-box response options, including ‘No religion’, alongside those who chose not to answer this question. itionally classified as upper tier local authorities.

Experimental statistics for population estimates by religion broken down into age and sex at a national regional level for England and Wales.

Approximately ****** prisoners in England and Wales identified as being Christian in 2024, the most of any religious faith among prisoners. A further ****** identified as having no religion, while ****** identified as Muslims.

The census is undertaken by the Office for National Statistics every 10 years and gives us a picture of all the people and households in England and Wales. The most recent census took place in March of 2021.The census asks every household questions about the people who live there and the type of home they live in. In doing so, it helps to build a detailed snapshot of society. Information from the census helps the government and local authorities to plan and fund local services, such as education, doctors' surgeries and roads.Key census statistics for Leicester are published on the open data platform to make information accessible to local services, voluntary and community groups, and residents.Further information about the census and full datasets can be found on the ONS website - https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/aboutcensus/censusproductsReligionThis dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify usual residents in England and Wales by religion. The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021.Definition: The religion people connect or identify with (their religious affiliation), whether or not they practice or have belief in it.This question was voluntary and the variable includes people who answered the question, including 'No Religion', alongside those who chose not to answer this question.This variable classifies responses into the eight tick-box response options. Write-in responses are classified by their "parent" religious affiliation, including 'No Religion', where applicable.This dataset contains details for Leicester City and England overall. There is also a dashboard that has been produced to show a selection of Census statistics for the city of Leicester which can be viewed here: Census 21 - Leicester dashboard.

Census 2021 data on religion by highest qualification level, by sex, by age, England and Wales combined. This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify usual residents in England and Wales by ethnic group. The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021.

The religion people connect or identify with (their religious affiliation), whether or not they practise or have belief in it.
This question was voluntary and the variable includes people who answered the question, including “No religion”, alongside those who chose not to answer this question.

Total counts for some population groups may not match between published tables. This is to protect the confidentiality of individuals' data. Population counts have been rounded to the nearest 5 and any counts below 10 are suppressed, this is signified by a 'c' in the data tables.

This dataset shows population counts for usual residents aged 16 years and over. Some people aged 16 years old will not have completed key stage 4 yet on census day, and so did not have the opportunity to record any qualifications on the census.

These estimates are not comparable to Department of Education figures on highest level of attainment because they include qualifications obtained outside England and Wales.

Quality notes can be found here

Quality information about Education can be found here

Religion

The 8 ‘tickbox’ religious groups are as follows:

• Buddhist
• Christian
• Hindu
• Jewish
• Muslim
• No religion
• Sikh
• Other religion

No qualifications

No qualifications

Level 1

Level 1 and entry level qualifications: 1 to 4 GCSEs grade A* to C , Any GCSEs at other grades, O levels or CSEs (any grades), 1 AS level, NVQ level 1, Foundation GNVQ, Basic or Essential Skills

Level 2

5 or more GCSEs (A* to C or 9 to 4), O levels (passes), CSEs (grade 1), School Certification, 1 A level, 2 to 3 AS levels, VCEs, Intermediate or Higher Diploma, Welsh Baccalaureate Intermediate Diploma, NVQ level 2, Intermediate GNVQ, City and Guilds Craft, BTEC First or General Diploma, RSA Diploma

Apprenticeship

Apprenticeship

Level 3

2 or more A levels or VCEs, 4 or more AS levels, Higher School Certificate, Progression or Advanced Diploma, Welsh Baccalaureate Advance Diploma, NVQ level 3; Advanced GNVQ, City and Guilds Advanced Craft, ONC, OND, BTEC National, RSA Advanced Diploma

Level 4 +

Degree (BA, BSc), higher degree (MA, PhD, PGCE), NVQ level 4 to 5, HNC, HND, RSA Higher Diploma, BTEC Higher level, professional qualifications (for example, teaching, nursing, accountancy)

Other

Vocational or work-related qualifications, other qualifications achieved in England or Wales, qualifications achieved outside England or Wales (equivalent not stated or unknown)

The 2021 Northern Ireland Census marked the first time since records began where the Catholic share of the population was larger than the combined Protestant share. In 2021, over 42 percent of the population classified themselves as Catholic or from a Catholic background, in comparison with 37 percent classified as Protestant or from a Protestant background. Additionally, the share of the population with no religion (or those who did not answer) was 19 percent; larger than any individual Protestant denomination. This marks a significant shift in demographic and societal trends over the past century, as Protestants outnumbered Catholics by roughly 2:1 when Northern Ireland was established in the 1920s. Given the Catholic community's historic tendency to be in favor of a united Ireland, many look to the changing religious composition of the population when assessing the potential for Irish reunification. Religion's historical influence A major development in the history of British rule in ireland was the Plantation of Ulster in the 1600s, where much of the land in the north (historically the most rebellious region) was seized from Irish Catholics and given to Protestant settlers from Britain (predominantly Scots). This helped establish Protestant dominance in the north, created a large section of the population loyal to the British crown, and saw a distinct Ulster-Scots identity develop over time. In the 1920s, the republican movement won independence for 26 of Ireland's 32 counties, however, the six counties in Ulster with the largest Protestant populations remained part of the UK, as Northern Ireland. Following partition, structural inequalities between Northern Ireland's Protestant and Catholic communities meant that the Protestant population was generally wealthier, better educated, more politically empowered, and had better access to housing, among other advantages. In the 1960s, a civil rights movement then emerged for equal rights and status for both sides of the population, but this quickly turned violent and escalated into a the three-decade long conflict now known as the Troubles.

The Troubles was largely fought between nationalist/republican paramilitaries (mostly Catholic), unionist/loyalist paramilitaries (mostly Protestant), and British security forces (including the police). This is often described as a religious conflict, however it is more accurately described as an ethnic and political conflict, where the Catholic community generally favored Northern Ireland's reunification with the rest of the island, while the Protestant community wished to remain in the UK. Paramilitaries had a large amount of support from their respective communities in the early years of the Troubles, but this waned as the conflict progressed into the 1980s and 1990s. Demographic and societal trends influenced the religious composition of Northern Ireland's population in these decades, as the Catholic community had higher fertility rates than Protestant communities, while the growing secularism has coincided with a decline in those identifying as Protestant - the dip in those identifying as Catholic in the 1970s and 1980s was due to a protest and boycott of the Census. The Troubles came to an end in 1998, and divisions between both sides of the community have drastically fallen, although they have not disappeared completely.

This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify usual residents in England and Wales by religion and by age. The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021.

Estimates for single year of age between ages 90 and 100+ are less reliable than other ages. Estimation and adjustment at these ages was based on the age range 90+ rather than five-year age bands. Read more about this quality notice.

Area type

Census 2021 statistics are published for a number of different geographies. These can be large, for example the whole of England, or small, for example an output area (OA), the lowest level of geography for which statistics are produced.

For higher levels of geography, more detailed statistics can be produced. When a lower level of geography is used, such as output areas (which have a minimum of 100 persons), the statistics produced have less detail. This is to protect the confidentiality of people and ensure that individuals or their characteristics cannot be identified.

Lower tier local authorities

Lower tier local authorities provide a range of local services. There are 309 lower tier local authorities in England made up of 181 non-metropolitan districts, 59 unitary authorities, 36 metropolitan districts and 33 London boroughs (including City of London). In Wales there are 22 local authorities made up of 22 unitary authorities.

Coverage

Census 2021 statistics are published for the whole of England and Wales. However, you can choose to filter areas by:

• country - for example, Wales
• region - for example, London
• local authority - for example, Cornwall
• health area – for example, Clinical Commissioning Group
• statistical area - for example, MSOA or LSOA

Religion

The religion people connect or identify with (their religious affiliation), whether or not they practise or have belief in it.

This question was voluntary and includes people who identified with one of 8 tick-box response options, including "No religion", alongside those who chose not to answer this question.

Age

A person’s age on Census Day, 21 March 2021 in England and Wales. Infants aged under 1 year are classified as 0 years of age.

Time-series dataset of the demographic characteristics of the UK ethnic minority populations and religious groups up to 2006, to study ethnic and religious demographic diversity and its impact upon future population size, age-structure and the ethnic and religious composition of the UK population. This dataset is compiled from various existing data sources: 2001 Census, Labour Force Survey (LFS) and International Passenger Survey (IPS) data. In the absence of vital statistics by ethnic groups, indirect methods were used to estimate vital rates, including the ‘Own Child’ method applied to LFS household data to derive fertility estimates of ethnic and religious groups. Building on previous work, fertility rates of ethnic groups were produced up to 2006, distinguishing between UK-born and foreign-born populations. Migration rates were based on ONS International Migration Statistics (using IPS data), LFS and census data and projected on various assumptions. The results served population projections to mid-century and beyond of the main ethnic minority populations, including mixed populations, and using cohort-component methods. Furthermore, estimates of fertility rates for the major religious (and non-religious) groups were produced.

Datasets include: (1) Calculated fertility estimates for all women aged 15 to 49 in the UK, by 5 years age group, by ethnic group, religion and place of birth (UK/non-UK), based on LFS data; (2) Data on mixed children by ethnic group of the mother; (3) Data on country of birth by ethnic group (all populations); (4) Data on immigration flow by country of origin.

This project aims to analyse ethnic and religious demographic diversity, to investigate the potential for convergence of trends over time and its impact upon future population size, age-structure and the ethnic and religious composition of the UK population.

Existing statistical sources (especially the 2001 Census, the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Longitudinal Survey) will be used to produce time-series of the demographic characteristics of the ethnic minority populations and religious groups up to 2006. In the absence of vital statistics by ethnic groups, the Own Child method applied to LFS and census data will be used to derive fertility estimates of ethnic and religious groups.

The results will serve population projections to mid-century and beyond of the main ethnic minority populations, including mixed populations, and using cohort-component methods. Migration rates will be based on ONS International Migration Statistics, LFS and census data and projected on various assumptions.

Furthermore, estimates of fertility rates and other demographic information for the major religious (and non-religious) groups will be produced with a view to making preliminary projections of their future size. The potential convergence of the demographic characteristics of ethnic and religious groups will be analysed, including mixed unions as an indicator for integration.

MP Religion & Assisted Dying Dashboard

This data powers a dashboard presenting insights into the religious affiliations and Assisted Dying voting patterns of UK Members of Parliament (MPs). It can be found here:

👉 https://davidjeffery.shinyapps.io/mp-religion/.

Please cite all uses of the data.

📊 What is this dashboard?

This dashboard presents insights into the religious affiliations and Assisted Dying voting patterns of UK Members of Parliament. It combines publicly available data to support transparency and understanding of Parliament’s composition.

📂 Where does the data come from?

The data is compiled from publicly available parliamentary records and voting data. You can download it directly from the link in the header or view it in the Raw Data tab of the dashboard.

🙏 How is religion determined?

There are three steps to determining religion. An MP is classified as having a religion based on the following criteria:

1. If the MP is a member of a religiously based group, they are classified as a member of that religion.

2. If a member has publicly spoken about their religion, they are classified as a member of that religion.

3. Finally, the text an MP swore in on is used to help infer their religion.

These sources are used in order of priority. For example, Tim Farron is a member of Christians in Parliament and has spoken about his religious views. However, he did not take the oath on the Bible, but made a solemn affirmation on no text. Regardless, he is still classed as Christian.

🧾 Variable Reference

What do those variable names mean?

• Member ID – member_id – A unique numeric identifier for each MP provided by Parliament.

• Name – display_as – The full display name of the MP.

• Gender – gender – The MP’s gender.

• Party – party – The full political party name.

• Party (Simplified) – party_simple – A shortened or cleaned version of the party name.

• Religion – mp_final_relig – The MP’s classified religion based on multiple criteria outlined above.

• AD: 2nd Reading Vote – ass_suicide_2nd – The MP’s vote (Yes, No, Abstain) on the Assisted Dying Bill 2nd Reading.

• AD: 3rd Reading Vote – ass_suicide_3rd – The MP’s vote (Yes, No, Abstain) on the Assisted Dying Bill 3rd Reading.

• LGBT Status – lgbt – Whether the MP is publicly identified as LGBT (LGBT.MP).

• Ethnic Minority – ethnic_mp – Whether the MP identifies as an ethnic minority.

• Religious Group: Christian – relig_christian – MP belongs to a Christian group (1 = Yes).

• Religious Group: Muslim – relig_muslim – MP belongs to a Muslim group (1 = Yes).

• Religious Group: Jewish – relig_jewish – MP belongs to a Jewish group (1 = Yes).

• Religious Group: Sikh – relig_sikh – MP belongs to a Sikh group (1 = Yes).

• Oath Taken – mp_swear – Whether the MP took the Oath or made an Affirmation.

• Oath Book – mp_swear_book – The specific religious text (e.g., Bible, Quran) used when swearing in.

• Inferred Religion – mp_inferred_relig – The religion inferred from the swearing-in text.

• Election Outcome – elected – Whether the MP was re-elected in the most recent election.

• Majority – majority – The MP’s vote share margin.

• Constituency Type – constituency_type – Type: Borough or County.

• Claimant Rate – cen_claimant – % of constituents claiming unemployment benefits.

• % White (Census) – cen_eth_white – Proportion of white ethnicity in the constituency.

• % Christian – cen_rel_christian – Constituency Christian population from the Census.

• % Buddhist – cen_rel_buddhist – Constituency Buddhist population.

• % Hindu – cen_rel_hindu – Constituency Hindu population.

• % Jewish – cen_rel_jewish – Constituency Jewish population.

• % Muslim – cen_rel_muslim – Constituency Muslim population.

• % Sikh – cen_rel_sikh – Constituency Sikh population.

• % No Religion – cen_rel_no religion – Constituents identifying as non-religious.

• % No Qualifications – cen_qual_none – Constituents with no formal qualifications.

• % Graduates – cen_qual_grad – Constituents with degree-level education.

• % Some Disability – cen_disab_some – Constituents reporting a form of disability.

✝️ Why are Catholics separate from Christians?

Don’t worry, I’m not suggesting we bring back the Test Acts. The logic here is that more granular data is better.

When swearing in, there are versions of the Bible specific to Catholics — typically the New Jerusalem Bible or the Douay–Rheims Bible — whereas if someone just asks for “the Bible”, they are given the King James Version and could be from any Christian denomination.

It would be a shame to lose that detail, so I provide the option to break out Catholic MPs separately.

📚 Where can I find more information about swearing in and the parliamentary oath?

The Parliament website has a great guide:

👉 https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/elections-and-voting/swearingin/

👤 Who created this dashboard?

This dashboard was created by Dr David Jeffery, University of Liverpool.

Follow me on Twitter/X or Bluesky.

❓ Why did you create this dashboard?

I needed to know MPs’ religion, and the text MPs used to swear in seemed like a valid proxy. This information was held by Humanists UK and when I asked for it, they said no.

So I did what any time-starved academic would do: I collected the data myself, by hand, and decided to make it public.

SUMMARYPopulation statistics at the Middle Layer Super Output Area (MSOA) level.Statistics are provided for local populations as a whole, irrespective of gender. The following statistics are provided:Age, split into discrete age bands (Office for National Statistics data, 30th June 2019 population estimates)Ethnicity (Census data, 2011)*Religion (Census data, 2011)**To increase the clarity of the data visualisations, the most frequently reported ethnicities and religions are included, with the less-frequently reported ethnicities and religions combined into suitable groups, respectively. Raw data for each MSOA can be accessed here.Data relating to gender was not included as, at present, only data relating to ‘males’ and ‘females’ are available, which is not inclusive of all genders. Following the 2021 census, data that more accurately reflects all genders are likely to be available.DATA SOURCESPopulation data: Mid-2019 (June 30) Population Estimates for Middle Layer Super Output Areas in England and Wales. © Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown Copyright 2020.Ethnicity statistics: 2011 Census: QS211EW Ethnic group (detailed), Middle Layer Super Output Areas (MSOAs) and Lower Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs) in England and Wales. © Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown Copyright 2013.Religion statistics: 2011 Census: QS210EW Religion (detailed), Middle Layer Super Output Areas (MSOAs) and Lower Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs) in England and Wales. © Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown Copyright 2013. MSOA boundaries: © Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2021. COPYRIGHT NOTICE© Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown Copyright 2013; © Crown Copyright 2020; © Crown copyright and database right 2021. Data edited for publishing by Ribble Rivers Trust.CaBA HEALTH & WELLBEING EVIDENCE BASEThis dataset forms part of the wider CaBA Health and Wellbeing Evidence Base.

The religion people connect or identify with (their religious affiliation), whether or not they practise or have belief in it. This question was voluntary and includes people who identified with one of eight tick-box response options, including "No religion", alongside those who chose not to answer this question.CoverageThis dataset is focused on the data for Birmingham at Ward level. Also available at LSOA, MSOA and Constituency levels.About the 2021 CensusThe Census takes place every 10 years and gives us a picture of all the people and households in England and Wales.Protecting personal dataThe ONS sometimes need to make changes to data if it is possible to identify individuals. This is known as statistical disclosure control. In Census 2021, they:

Swapped records (targeted record swapping), for example, if a household was likely to be identified in datasets because it has unusual characteristics, they swapped the record with a similar one from a nearby small area. Very unusual households could be swapped with one in a nearby local authority. Added small changes to some counts (cell key perturbation), for example, we might change a count of four to a three or a five. This might make small differences between tables depending on how the data are broken down when they applied perturbation.For more geographies, aggregations or topics see the link in the Reference below. Or, to create a custom dataset with multiple variables use the ONS Create a custom dataset tool.Population valueThe value column represents All usual residents.The percentage shown is the value as a percentage of All usual residents within the given geography.

Table showing the numbers and percentage of resident population (all ages) broken down into six faiths, plus no religion and any other religion. Data is taken from the Annual Population Survey (ONS).

The data covers: Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, any other religion and no religion at all.

95% Confidence Intervals are shown.

Or alternatively, faith data from the 2011 Census is able to show numbers for each of the main religions.

In 2018 just over a third of people in the United Kingdom identified as being Christian, compared with two-thirds 25 years earlier in 1983. During this time period the proportion of people who identify as Christian has declined dramatically, while the proportion of irreligious people has grown,

Census 2021 data on religion by household occupancy rating of bedrooms, by sex, by age, and religion by dwelling tenure, by sex, by age, England and Wales combined. This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify usual residents in England and Wales by ethnic group. The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021.

The religion people connect or identify with (their religious affiliation), whether or not they practise or have belief in it.
This question was voluntary and the variable includes people who answered the question, including “No religion”, alongside those who chose not to answer this question.

Total counts for some population groups may not match between published tables. This is to protect the confidentiality of individuals' data. Population counts have been rounded to the nearest 5 and any counts below 10 are suppressed, this is signified by a 'c' in the data tables.

Quality notes can be found here

Quality information about Housing can be found here

Religion

The 8 ‘tickbox’ religious groups are as follows:

• Buddhist
• Christian
• Hindu
• Jewish
• Muslim
• No religion
• Sikh
• Other religion

Occupancy rating of bedrooms: 0 or more

A household’s accommodation has an ideal number of bedrooms or more bedrooms than required (under-occupied)

Occupancy rating of bedrooms: -1 or less

A household’s accommodation has fewer bedrooms than required (overcrowded)

From 2022 to 2060, the worldwide population of Muslims is expected to increase by 45.7 percent. For the same period, the global population of Buddhists is expected to decrease by 12.2 percent.