11/2/2019 Religious Beliefs In The United Kingdom (Great Britain) - WorldAtlas.

com

CONTINENTS  COUNTRIES  ANSWERS TRAVEL SOCIETY ECONOMICS ENVIRONMENT WORLD FACTS  

SOCIETY

Religious Beliefs In The United

Kingdom (Great Britain)

Related Articles
Largest Ethnic Groups
In The United Kingdom
(Great Britain)

Most Important Battles

In The History Of Great
Britain (United
Kingdom)

Who Was Queen Anne

of Great Britain?

Crown Jewels Of The

United Kingdom (Great
Chelmsford Anglican Cathedral in Chelmsford, Essex, England, dedicated to the Saints Mary the Virgin, Peter, Britain)
and Cedd.

Did You Know That

     King George I of Great
Britain Was German?

Freedom of Religion in the United Kingdom

Most Popular
The United Kingdom, comprised of England, Scotland,
Wales, and Northern Ireland, guarantees freedom of What are Push and Pull
Factors?
religion to its citizens and residents through 3 different
regulations. One of these laws is the European
Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right
to free religious choice. Although freedom of religion is Countries Without the
Letter A in Their Name
well established and practiced, some religious preference
is given by the government. In the case of the monarchy
for example, only Protestants may become king or queen
(although they are now free to marry Catholics without losing their succession to the throne). Largest Religions In
The World
Additionally, the Church of England is the state church of that country and the monarch swears an oath
to protect both the Church of England and the Church of Scotland. Residents of the UK follow several
different beliefs. Those beliefs are discussed below.

Irreligion in Great Britain

Irreligion is the lack of a religious belief, and includes such subcategories as atheism and agnosticism.
Nearly half (49%) of the population of the UK identifies as irreligious. This number is one of the highest
in Europe, although it follows a regional pattern toward secularization. Many researchers believe the
UK has entered a period of post-Christianity in which the previously dominant Christian religion has
given way to different values and cultures. Of the four countries that make up the UK, England is the
least religious, followed by Scotland, Wales, and then Northern Ireland.

Anglican Christianity
Religious Beliefs In The United Kingdom (Great Britain)  SHARE  TWEET  PIN

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/religious-beliefs-in-the-united-kingdom-great-britain.html 1/3
11/2/2019 Religious Beliefs In The United Kingdom (Great Britain) - WorldAtlas.com

Anglican Christianity is practiced in regional jurisdictions, such as the Church of England, Church of
CONTINENTS  COUNTRIES  ANSWERS TRAVEL SOCIETY ECONOMICS ENVIRONMENT WORLD FACTS  
Scotland, Church of Ireland, and Church of Wales. In 1534, it split away from the Catholic church,
prompting what is now known as the English Reformation era. Historically, this has been the
predominant Christian denomination in the UK. Today, 17% of the population identify as Anglican.

Other Non-Catholic Christians

Besides Anglicanism and Catholicism, other Christian beliefs are practiced by 17% of the British
population. A few of these denominations include non-Anglican Protestants, Orthodox Christians,
Presbyterians, Methodists, and Baptists. Many of the Protestant churches in Scotland broke away from
the Anglican church, Church of Scotland, in the 19th Century. England and Wales began to form non-
Anglican Protestant churches in the 1980’s. The Protestant denomination is the second largest in
Northern Ireland. Methodism was introduced to England in the 18th Century and today, has around
290,000 members throughout Great Britain, but only 3,000 in Scotland. Church attendance of all of
these denomination is declining.

Roman Catholicism

Catholicism has a long history in the United Kingdom. For nearly 200 years, however, from the 1500’s
until the 1700’s, the Catholic church would not recognize the English monarchy. During this time,
Catholics suffered discrimination, and were prohibited from voting, joining Parliament, and owning
land. Today, 8% of the British population identifies as Catholic. The majority of these followers are in
Northern Ireland where around 40% of the people are Catholic, and it is the dominant religion around
the inland areas of Northern Ireland. In Scotland, approximately 15.9% of the population identifies as
Catholic. This number drops significantly in England and Wales where it is only 7.4%.

Islam

The percentage of the population identifying as Muslim in the United Kingdom is 5%. The majority of
these followers live in England and Wales, where they make up 3% of the population. They make up
only .8% of the population in Scotland and in Northern Ireland fewer than 2,000 people practice Islam.
Although these numbers are small, they grew 10 times faster than the population between 2001 and
2009.

Approximately 3% of the population practices some other religion not listed above. These religions
include Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Sikhism, and the Baha’i Faith. Indian and Eastern religions in
the United Kingdom are growing in size as immigrants continue to arrive from English-speaking areas,
particularly former British colonies, in South and East Asia.

Share of British
Rank Belief System
Population

1 Irreligious, Atheist, or Agnostic 49%

2 Anglican Christianity 17%

3 Non-Anglican Protestant, Orthodoxy, and other forms of non-Catholic 17%

Christianity

4 Roman Catholic Christianity 8%

5 Islam 5%

Eastern Religions, Judaism, and Other Beliefs 4%

This page was last updated on April 25, 2017.

By Amber Pariona

    
Religious Beliefs In The United Kingdom (Great Britain)  SHARE  TWEET  PIN

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/religious-beliefs-in-the-united-kingdom-great-britain.html 2/3
11/2/2019 Religious Beliefs In The United Kingdom (Great Britain) - WorldAtlas.com

CONTINENTS  COUNTRIES  ANSWERS TRAVEL SOCIETY ECONOMICS ENVIRONMENT WORLD FACTS  

On WorldAtlas.com

More in Society

The Culture Of Ireland The Culture Of Iraq The Culture Of Lithuania

The Culture Of Jordan The Culture Of Romania The Culture Of Malta

 LOAD COMMENTS

Popular Atlas Pages Popular Reference Pages General Information

Africa Antarctica Did You Know? Bodies of Water Advertise with us

Asia Oceania Continents Countries (a list) Contact Us
Caribbean Central America Country Codes (all) Currency Conversion About Us
Europe Middle East Current Time (anywhere) Distances Privacy Statement
North America South America Equator Find Any Address Copyright information
Arctic Islands Find Any City Flags Graphic Maps
USA Canada Hemispheres Latitude and Longitude Featured Photos
Definition of Geography 5 Themes of Geography Map Tests Oceans (all) Featured Videos
What Is Cartography? What Is a Leap Year? Outline Maps Populations (cities & countries) Want to Become a
Writer?
Quizzes Prime Meridian USA Times
World Maps United States Area Codes

All maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions © 2019 worldatlas.com


https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/religious-beliefs-in-the-united-kingdom-great-britain.html 3/3