By Meliha Hayat, UK
Religion has always played a pivotal role in British history. It has been such an integral part of this nation’s fabric that most Britons have come to the conclusion that whether you are devoted to religion or hold the belief of religious indifference, faith is indeed an essential part of the UK’s fundamental social fabric.
But this fabric is showing signs of fraying as it seems more and more people in Britain are becoming disenchanted from religion altogether.
According to projections by the US-based Pew Research Centre, over the next three decades the biggest change in the religious make-up of Britain will be a significant rise in the number of non-religious people, ranking the UK as the sixth largest non-religious population, behind countries such as North Korea and Vietnam.
We can already see signs of this study becoming apparent with the role of bishops in the House of Lords being brought in to question, following their veto of the Government’s benefits cap bill, and the news that philosopher Alain de Botton is creating plans to build a ’temple of atheism’ in London. The BBC has also been accused of treating religion as the “fag end” of its priorities as it plans to scrap its high-profile position of head of religion to cut costs.
According to a study by the British polling company YouGov, 51% believe that religion in Britain is in terminal decline, in comparison to the 24% who disagree. The findings also revealed that 42% of British adults don’t have any religion. There is also a big difference in the perception of faith between older and younger generations. 60% of 18-24 year olds and 53% of 25-39 year olds said they had no religion, compared to 41% of 40-59 year olds and just 26% of over-60s.
Former Minister for Faith and Communities Baroness Syeeda Warsi, has previously expressed fears regarding the marginalisation of religion throughout Britain and Europe, stating that faith “needs a seat at the table in public life.” In an article published in the Telegraph Warsi equated Britain’s ‘militant secularisation’ to a totalitarian regime, she said: “one of the most worrying aspects about this militant secularisation is that at its core its instincts are deeply intolerant.”
Prime Minister David Cameron, meanwhile, has openly defended the role of religion in the UK. He stated that British Christians should be unashamedly ‘evangelical.’ On speaking about his personal beliefs, he said he had experienced the “healing power” of religion in his own life and insisted that Christianity could transform the “spiritual, physical, and moral” state of Britain, although he admitted that he was only a ‘vaguley’ practising Christian. Last year, Cameron said that Britain ‘is a Christian country’ and ‘should not be afraid to say so’ – continuing that ‘standing up for Christianity’ wasn’t the same as ‘doing down other faiths’.
Despite the strong position of Christianity in the UK to date, the religious landscape is heading for a significant change. Global studies have predicted that one in nine Britons will be Muslim by 2050 but the UK is set to become one of the least religious countries in the world overall. According to the Pew Research Centre, the proportion of the British population identifying themselves as Christian will reduce by almost a third by 2050 and stand at just 45.4 per cent, compared with almost two thirds in 2010. The number of Muslims in Britain is predicted reach 11.3 per cent, or one in nine of the total population during that time. They would account for just fewer than 39 per cent, challenging Christianity as the biggest faith community in the UK.
David Voas, acting director of the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex, believes that the future of religion in the UK can be found “In Islam and the black majority churches.” In an article for theosthinktank.co.uk he said: “Muslims already contribute ten per cent of British births; within several decades people of Muslim heritage will form ten per cent of the population, even if immigration came to an abrupt halt tomorrow. If even half are observant, they will form a substantial proportion of the religiously active population. Ethnic minority Christians will have another large share. The future of religion in Britain is black and brown.”
His views reflect the thoughts of various leading experts in religious trends who also believe that Islam and newer forms of Christianity are overhauling the Church of England as white Britons lose their taste for worship. Jarrod McKenna, a Christian pastor from Australia believes the Church of England now has an opportunity to reinvent the role of Christianity in the UK: “The Church is having to be born again in the UK,” he told Christian Today This was because the Church was no longer meant to be at the “centre” of establishment and power. “There is this incredible opportunity to be found where Jesus is, on the margins.”
Taking this all in to account, it is hard to define where the future of religion stands in Britain, although Britain is ranked as one of the least religious countries in the world, faith is still a significant factor in British society. We have seen throughout history that the church has played a pivotal role in the governance of this nation, and leaders still wish to define it as a “Christian country”. Such bonds are hard to break. However, the influx of people from different nations has changed the very face of religion in Britain. The rise of Islam and minority Christian sects means that soon the Church of England as we know it may not remain the ruling face of religion in the UK. However, if the next generation has indeed become disillusioned from religion altogether, then secularisation may in fact be the next ‘ruling majority.’ Only time will tell.
Meliha Hayat is a Religious Journalist who has written for The Times and the Huffington Post. She is also a deputy editor for the international religious magazine The Review of Religions.