National Statistics logo 29 August 2008

focus on Religion

Religion  
Focus on Religion paints a picture of the different faith groups in the UK today. It looks separately at Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Information comparing and contrasting the characteristics of the main faith groups, their lifestyles and experiences is presented. It draws on information from the 2001 Census – the first time Great Britain included a question on religion – and other sources.

The 2001 Census identified 8.6 million people in Great Britain who said they had no religion. Christianity is the main religion, with 41 million people. Muslims were the largest non-Christian religious group – 1.6 million – and their profile shows a young, tightly clustered, but often disadvantaged, community.

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arrow Religious Populations
Christianity is main religion in Britain
- arrow Age & Sex Distribution
Muslim population is youngest
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arrow Geographic Distribution
Minority religions concentrated in London
- arrow Ethnicity
Nine in ten Sikhs are from the Indian group
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arrow Country of Birth & National Identity
Majority identify as British
- arrow Health & Disability
Muslims report worst health
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arrow Marriage Patterns
16% of young adults with no religion cohabit
- arrow Households
Muslims have largest households
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arrow Housing
Sikhs most likely to own their own homes
- arrow Education
One in three Muslims have no qualifications
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arrow Labour Market
Muslim unemployment rate highest
- arrow Employment patterns
Jews most likely to be self-employed
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arrow Communities in Northern Ireland
Protestants largest community
- arrow Northern Ireland Labour Market
Unemployment rate higher for Catholics than Protestants
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arrow Geographic diversity
Harrow the most religiously diverse area
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arrow Download full report & data - arrow Download 2004 summary report (pdf)
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Further Analysis -  
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arrow Latest report: Focus on Ethnicity & Religion - arrow Guide to Questions on Religion
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About this series
Each overview in the Focus on series combines data from the 2001 Census and other sources to illustrate its topic, and provide links to further information. The online overviews will be followed up with more comprehensive analysis in fuller reports.

 Updated 10 October 2006



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