Collapse: more than half of the British public say they have ‘no religion’

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The number of Anglicans in Britain has collapsed by 50 percent in under two decades, according to figures released today. The latest British Social Attitudes survey’s data on religion show that the number of people in Britain who describe themselves as having no religion at all is also at its highest ever level. More than half, 53 per cent, of the British public now describe themselves as having ‘no religion’. This is up from 48 per cent in 2015. Figures released earlier from the same survey showed that  that religious people are becoming more socially liberal on issues like same sex relationships and abortion. This is in sharp contrast to the Church of England, where the conservative evangelicalism currently in the ascendancy  under the leadership of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is resolutely committed to an interpretation of the Bible opposed to same-sex marriage. The proportion of non-believers has increased gradually since the survey began in 1983, when the proportion saying they had no religion stood at just 31 per cent. The decline in religious affiliation is hitting the Church of England particularly hard, according to the survey. Just 15 per cent of people in Britain consider themselves Anglican. This is half the proportion who said they were Anglican in 2000.

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