Theme 3: Significant historical developments in religious thought
Challenges from secularisation
Secularisation = process of society moving away from religion – can refer to movement from
official/public forms [rituals & ceremonies] and/or private forms [attitudes, beliefs & values]
Anglican Communion = worldwide association of episcopal [having bishop] churches
Church of England = Church body that’s part of Anglican communion & is state [or ‘established’]
Church in England
Whether UK can be called ‘Christian country’
Up to 30% of all primary & secondary schools in some regions have Christian affiliation & 26
Bishops sit in House of Lords
What’s underneath ‘Christian surface’?
2011 Census indicated that 54% of population affiliated with Christianity – doesn’t mean
54% active in church
British Social Attitudes Survey shows >15% report attending religious services on weekly
basis
Christian attendance in churches >5%
Attendance in Church of England fallen under 5%
2000 – ORB Survey commissioned by BBC
o 31% = spiritual person
o 27% = religious person
o 21% = not religious person
o 10% = agnostic person
o 8% = connived atheist
o 7% = not spiritual
o 5% = don’t know
Decline of Christianity
Decline seen by those participating in rites – baptism, marriage, funerals
Before 20th century = normal to undergone these – now it’s rare
Church of England = 67% baptised in 1950, only 12% in 2011
1957 = 72% of marriages in England & Wales conducted in churches
o 2000 = dropped to around 36%
1
, Theme 3: Significant historical developments in religious thought
Challenges from secularisation
Support of notion of UK as Christian country
o Studies shown numbers growing at cathedrals amongst worshippers, pilgrims,
tourists & visitors
o Rare for someone to die without some form of religious ceremony
o Christian presence via chaplains in many areas of our social life: health care, prison
service, armed service & higher education
o AHRC/ESRC in 2010/11 = over 50% of undergraduate students self-identified as
Christian
o Many popular Christian festivals – Greenbelt, Spring Harvest, New Wine & Soul
Survivor
o 77% of British believe ‘there are things in life we simply cannot explain through
science or any other means’
Challenging notion of UK as Christian country
o 2001 census – 15% of people had no faith
2011 census – 25%
o 2001 -72% of population identified as Christians
2011 – 59%
o Continuing shift away from those who believe in personal God towards those who
prefer less specific formulation
o Dramatic shift from what one cannot do on Sundays – increasing participation in
sports, shopping & work
Used to be law in UK – no shops allowed to be open on a Sunday, though
was changed but had backlash [1994]
o Churches being turned into commercial spaces, dwelling, temples & mosques
o Atheism & humanism now presented more widely in British schools
o Data from British Social Attitudes survey reveals – every single convert, Church of
England currently loses 12 people mainly via death
What does it mean to have ‘no religion’ in the UK?
British Attitudes Survey of 2016 = 53% of population said they had no religion
Sociologist, Woodhead conducted research & found – 18-24 year olds make up 60% of ‘no
religion’
2
Challenges from secularisation
Secularisation = process of society moving away from religion – can refer to movement from
official/public forms [rituals & ceremonies] and/or private forms [attitudes, beliefs & values]
Anglican Communion = worldwide association of episcopal [having bishop] churches
Church of England = Church body that’s part of Anglican communion & is state [or ‘established’]
Church in England
Whether UK can be called ‘Christian country’
Up to 30% of all primary & secondary schools in some regions have Christian affiliation & 26
Bishops sit in House of Lords
What’s underneath ‘Christian surface’?
2011 Census indicated that 54% of population affiliated with Christianity – doesn’t mean
54% active in church
British Social Attitudes Survey shows >15% report attending religious services on weekly
basis
Christian attendance in churches >5%
Attendance in Church of England fallen under 5%
2000 – ORB Survey commissioned by BBC
o 31% = spiritual person
o 27% = religious person
o 21% = not religious person
o 10% = agnostic person
o 8% = connived atheist
o 7% = not spiritual
o 5% = don’t know
Decline of Christianity
Decline seen by those participating in rites – baptism, marriage, funerals
Before 20th century = normal to undergone these – now it’s rare
Church of England = 67% baptised in 1950, only 12% in 2011
1957 = 72% of marriages in England & Wales conducted in churches
o 2000 = dropped to around 36%
1
, Theme 3: Significant historical developments in religious thought
Challenges from secularisation
Support of notion of UK as Christian country
o Studies shown numbers growing at cathedrals amongst worshippers, pilgrims,
tourists & visitors
o Rare for someone to die without some form of religious ceremony
o Christian presence via chaplains in many areas of our social life: health care, prison
service, armed service & higher education
o AHRC/ESRC in 2010/11 = over 50% of undergraduate students self-identified as
Christian
o Many popular Christian festivals – Greenbelt, Spring Harvest, New Wine & Soul
Survivor
o 77% of British believe ‘there are things in life we simply cannot explain through
science or any other means’
Challenging notion of UK as Christian country
o 2001 census – 15% of people had no faith
2011 census – 25%
o 2001 -72% of population identified as Christians
2011 – 59%
o Continuing shift away from those who believe in personal God towards those who
prefer less specific formulation
o Dramatic shift from what one cannot do on Sundays – increasing participation in
sports, shopping & work
Used to be law in UK – no shops allowed to be open on a Sunday, though
was changed but had backlash [1994]
o Churches being turned into commercial spaces, dwelling, temples & mosques
o Atheism & humanism now presented more widely in British schools
o Data from British Social Attitudes survey reveals – every single convert, Church of
England currently loses 12 people mainly via death
What does it mean to have ‘no religion’ in the UK?
British Attitudes Survey of 2016 = 53% of population said they had no religion
Sociologist, Woodhead conducted research & found – 18-24 year olds make up 60% of ‘no
religion’
2
