A Perfect Companion

Anybody feeling a little at sea in the plethora of religious data may find a new briefing paper from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) a great boon. Written by EHRC’s research manager, David Perfect, and simply entitled Religion or Belief, it is available to download from:

http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/publications/religion_or_belief_briefing_paper.pdf

The 25-page paper brings together a selection of key national statistics on religion in Great Britain, sometimes as time series. The document is short enough for BRIN readers to consult directly, so no summary of findings will be attempted here. However, an annotated listing of the 19 tables may be found useful.

RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION

1. Religious affiliation, Great Britain, 2001, from Census

2. Religious affiliation, Great Britain, 2004/05-2008/09, from Annual Population Survey

3. Religious affiliation, England, Scotland, Wales, 2001, from Census

4. Religious affiliation, England, Scotland, Wales, 2009/10, from Integrated Household Survey

RELIGIOUS BELONGING

5. Belonging to a religion, Great Britain, 1983, 2008, from British Social Attitudes [BSA] Survey

6. Belonging to a religion by gender, Great Britain, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2008, from BSA

7. Belonging to a religion by age, Great Britain, 2008, from BSA

RELIGIOUS PRACTICE

8. Active practice of religion, England and Wales, 2008/09, from Citizenship Survey

9. Attendance at religious services, Great Britain, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2008, from BSA

10. Church attendance, England, 1979, 1989, 1998, 2005, from English Church Censuses

RELIGIOUS BELIEF

11. Belief in God, Great Britain, 1991, 1998, 2008, from BSA

12. Belief in God, United Kingdom and Europe, 2010, from Eurobarometer  

RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION AND PREJUDICE

13. Perceptions of religious prejudice, England and Wales, 2005, 2007/08, 2008/09, from Citizenship Survey

14. Perceptions of more religious prejudice by religion, England and Wales, 2005, 2007/08, 2008/09, from Citizenship Survey

15. Perceptions of racial or religious harassment as a big problem, England, 2009/10, from Citizenship Survey

16. Perceptions of widespread discrimination by religion or belief, United Kingdom and Europe, 2009, from Eurobarometer

17. Perceptions of discrimination by equality strand, United Kingdom and Europe, 2009, from Eurobarometer

18. Disposal of Employment Tribunal cases by equality strand, Great Britain, 2009/10, from Employment Tribunal Statistics

19. Female Church of England clergy, England, 2000-09, from Church Statistics  

The paper concludes with a discussion of the sources (pages 20-2), mostly giving online links, and endnotes (pages 23-5).