A thread mainly for the Brits but also for those comparative theologians elsewhere with knowledge &/ questions. I'll start with some facts & stats, some commentary and a couple of statements from personal experience.
Officially, the Head of State, the Monarch (currently Queen Elizabeth II), is also Head of the State Religion (The Church of England) which technically makes the UK a theocracy but the democratic set up means that the Monarch has little decision-making power and is more of an ambassadorial & ceremonial role than the 'dictatorship' often seen in other theocracies.
According the the 2011 census, 59.3% of the population identify as 'Christian', 4.8% 'Muslim', 1.5% Hindu, 0.8% Sikh, 0.5% Jewish, 0.4% Buddhist and 4% 'Other' (e.g. Pagan, Spiritualist, Jain, even Jedi). 25% identified as 'Non-religious'. ONS Census Figures
A study, conducted in 2005, found evidence that religiosity is in overall decline in the UK with roughly half of parental religiosity being transmitted to offspring. Religion: Neither Believing nor Belonging
The British Social Attitudes Survey is an annual survey, organised by the National Centre on behalf of the Economic & Social Council. It has the purpose of understanding the way UK citizens feel on a variety of subjects. The 2012 results showed that religion is on the decline and provided correlation data between religion and certain social attitudes (e.g. marriage, abortion, gender roles, pre-marital sex, openness to religious discussion). British Social Attitudes Survey 2012: Religion
It seems quite clear that religiosity is on the decline, overall, but from my experience, religion seems to be important to many in terms of cultural identity, tradition and historical context for self-awareness; far more subjectively important than the stats might suggest. Also, people's willingness to discuss religion varies by religion. I find Muslims & Hindus are often very open about their religion, integrating many aspects in to their everyday behaviour & habits whilst Christians and Pagans seem to prefer keeping their beliefs personal and often separate from many aspects of their day-to-day lives.
To me, religion is important in a familial & historic context as my mother's family were strict Irish Roman Catholics, their father (my maternal grandfather) moving them to Liverpool in the early 20thC: many of you will be aware of the context here brought about by the sectarian conflicts in Northern Ireland. My elder sister is still Roman Catholic and my younger sister a Pagan, celebrating the Green Man. Religion is also important is a similar cultural context to the majority of my friends. So even though I identify as irreligious & asuperstitionist and try to eliminate religious influences from my personal actions & attitudes, I recognise the impacts & importance of religion in the thoughts & behaviour of others because otherwise I won't understand them. That in itself makes religion very important!
Officially, the Head of State, the Monarch (currently Queen Elizabeth II), is also Head of the State Religion (The Church of England) which technically makes the UK a theocracy but the democratic set up means that the Monarch has little decision-making power and is more of an ambassadorial & ceremonial role than the 'dictatorship' often seen in other theocracies.
According the the 2011 census, 59.3% of the population identify as 'Christian', 4.8% 'Muslim', 1.5% Hindu, 0.8% Sikh, 0.5% Jewish, 0.4% Buddhist and 4% 'Other' (e.g. Pagan, Spiritualist, Jain, even Jedi). 25% identified as 'Non-religious'. ONS Census Figures
A study, conducted in 2005, found evidence that religiosity is in overall decline in the UK with roughly half of parental religiosity being transmitted to offspring. Religion: Neither Believing nor Belonging
The British Social Attitudes Survey is an annual survey, organised by the National Centre on behalf of the Economic & Social Council. It has the purpose of understanding the way UK citizens feel on a variety of subjects. The 2012 results showed that religion is on the decline and provided correlation data between religion and certain social attitudes (e.g. marriage, abortion, gender roles, pre-marital sex, openness to religious discussion). British Social Attitudes Survey 2012: Religion
It seems quite clear that religiosity is on the decline, overall, but from my experience, religion seems to be important to many in terms of cultural identity, tradition and historical context for self-awareness; far more subjectively important than the stats might suggest. Also, people's willingness to discuss religion varies by religion. I find Muslims & Hindus are often very open about their religion, integrating many aspects in to their everyday behaviour & habits whilst Christians and Pagans seem to prefer keeping their beliefs personal and often separate from many aspects of their day-to-day lives.
To me, religion is important in a familial & historic context as my mother's family were strict Irish Roman Catholics, their father (my maternal grandfather) moving them to Liverpool in the early 20thC: many of you will be aware of the context here brought about by the sectarian conflicts in Northern Ireland. My elder sister is still Roman Catholic and my younger sister a Pagan, celebrating the Green Man. Religion is also important is a similar cultural context to the majority of my friends. So even though I identify as irreligious & asuperstitionist and try to eliminate religious influences from my personal actions & attitudes, I recognise the impacts & importance of religion in the thoughts & behaviour of others because otherwise I won't understand them. That in itself makes religion very important!
Sum ergo sum
