A new analysis shows that the number of people who say they have no religion is rapidly escalating and significantly outweighs the Christian population in England and Wales, The Guardian website reports today (May 24, 2016).
The proportion of the population who identify as having no religion -- referred to as "nones" -- reached 48.5 percent in 2014, almost double the figure of 25 percent in the 2011 census. Those who define themselves as Christians -- Anglicans, Catholics, and other denominations -- made up 43.8 percent of the population.
"The striking thing is the clear sense of the growth of 'no religion' as a proportion of the population," said Stephen Bullivant, senior lecturer in theology and ethics at St. Mary's Catholic University in Twickenham, England, who analyzed data collected through British Social Attitudes surveys over three decades.
He added, "The main driver is people who were brought up with some religion now saying they have no religion... The reason for that is the big question in the sociology of religion."
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