The number of people identifying as Christian in England and Wales has fallen below half of the population for the first time.
According to data released from the 2021 census, 46.2 percent of the population, or approximately 27.5 million people, describe themselves as Christian, a reduction of 13.1 percent since 2011 when the last census took place.
The survey also concluded that the number of people who said they did not have a religion rose from 25.2 to 37.2 percent, while those who identified as Muslim rose from 4.9 to 6.5 percent.
The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, said the data was “not a great surprise” and that, “We have left behind the era when many people almost automatically identified as Christian.” However, Cottrell said that it was time to look beyond the survey and note that Christians in England and Wales are part of a global faith, which he called the “largest movement on Earth” giving people hope for a peaceful future….