Author Archives: David Voas

A less Christian future for England and Wales

Posted on February 5, 2023 by David Voas

The breakdown of the census religion counts by age and sex, released 30 January 2023, helps us to picture the religious landscape in the decades ahead. The obvious change is well known, though perhaps not yet fully grasped: the proportion … Continue reading →

Posted in Measuring religion, Official data, Religious Census, Uncategorized, visualisation | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Christian decline: How it’s measured and what it means

Posted on January 25, 2023 by David Voas

The 2021 census in England and Wales suggests that self-identified Christians are now less than half the population. Anyone following the British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey will regard this development as old news: it has put the Christian share below … Continue reading →

Posted in Measuring religion, Official data, Religious Census | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Understanding Society, Wave 4

Posted on December 20, 2014 by David Voas

Wave 4 of ‘Understanding Society’, the UK Household Longitudinal Study, is now available to registered users of the UK Data Service. Every year the study collects data on the social and economic characteristics of people living in 40,000 households across … Continue reading →

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Census 2011: Muslims in Britain

Posted on June 8, 2013 by David Voas

The 2011 census allows us to explore the national origins and ethnic composition of different religious groups.  In this initial analysis, we consider the profile of Muslims in England and Wales. Two thirds are Asian, mostly South Asian.  The majority … Continue reading →

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Local variation in levels of religious affiliation

Posted on May 25, 2013 by David Voas

The 2011 census reveals a remarkable amount of neighbourhood variation in levels of religion or non-religion.  Looking across the 8,570 wards in England – small areas with an average population of about 6,500 – the proportion of people describing themselves … Continue reading →

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Religious Census 2011 – What happened to the Christians? (Part II)

Posted on May 18, 2013 by David Voas

As discussed in December 2012 on BRIN, the sharp fall in the ‘Christian’ population has been the big story on religion from the 2011 census.  If the 2001 results posed one problem for religious statisticians – why was the Christian … Continue reading →

Posted in Measuring religion, Religious Census, Research note | 4 Comments

Census 2011 – Any other religion?

Posted on December 16, 2012 by David Voas

In a world of tick-boxes, write-in responses are always fascinating.  The ‘Any other religion’ line on the census form is an invitation to self-expression that was accepted by hundreds of thousands of people in England and Wales in 2011. They … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Religious Census 2011 – What happened to the Christians?

Posted on December 13, 2012 by David Voas

When it comes to religion, the sharp fall in the ‘Christian’ population has been the big story of the 2011 census. If the 2001 results posed one problem for religious statisticians – why was the Christian figure so high? – the latest findings are just as puzzling: why has it fallen so fast?
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Posted in Official data, Religious Census | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Census Day

Posted on March 27, 2011 by David Voas

The census manages to evoke contrary responses: it’s either a bit of a joke or a threat to civil liberty. I’ll address the objections in a moment, but let’s start with the jolly part.
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Guardian Fact File not so factual

Posted on April 26, 2010 by David Voas

The Guardian is publishing a series of ‘Factfile UK’ supplements this week. The first of them was on Population (Saturday 24 April 2010).

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