Religious composition of ethnic groups, April 2001, GB
The 2001 Census collected information about ethnicity and religious identity. Combining these results shows that while the British population is more culturally diverse than ever before, White Christians remain the largest single group by far. In Great Britain, 40 million people (nearly seven in ten) described their ethnicity as White and their religion as Christian.
Majorities of Black people and those from Mixed ethnic backgrounds also identified as Christian (71 and 52 per cent respectively). In total there were 815,000 Black Christians and 353,000 Christians from Mixed ethnic backgrounds.
Among other faiths the largest groups were Pakistani Muslims (686,000) and Indian Hindus (471,000) followed by Indian Sikhs (307,000), Bangladeshi Muslims (261,000) and White Jews (259,000).
The Indian group was religiously diverse: 45 per cent of Indians were Hindu, 29 per cent Sikh and a further 13 per cent Muslim. In contrast the Pakistani and Bangladeshi groups were more homogeneous, Muslims accounting for 92 per cent of each ethnic group.
Some faith communities were concentrated in particular ethnic groups. For example, 91 per cent of Sikhs were Indian and 97 per cent of Jews described their ethnicity as White. Other faiths were more widely dispersed. Considerable proportions of Buddhists were found in the White, Chinese, Other Asian and Other ethnic groups.
Overall, 15 per cent of the British population reported having no religion although variation by ethnicity was marked. Just over half of all Chinese people (53 per cent), and just under one quarter of people from Mixed ethnic backgrounds (23 per cent), stated they had no religion. Asian, Black African and White Irish people were least likely to have no religious affiliation. Around 1 in 200 Pakistanis and Bangladeshis reported having no religion.
Fourteen per cent of people in the Other Black group chose not to answer the religion question, almost twice the average for Great Britain as a whole. Similar proportions of people in the Black Caribbean and Mixed ethnic groups also gave no answer.
Sources: Census, April 2001, Office for National Statistics; Census, April 2001, General Register Office for Scotland
Notes:
The Census question about religion was voluntary. This page presents information with coverage for Great Britain. When it was originally published, in January 2004, it covered England and Wales only.
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