Is the UK becoming more or less religious?

Posted by Impossible_Year_2669@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 13 comments

From the perspective of an outsider, the answer to this seems to be both - Christianity is declining, but there seems to be rising animosity towards other religious groups.

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LaraH39@reddit

Christianity is declining, but there seems to be rising animosity towards other religious groups.

I don't understand how this shows both a declining AND increasing religiosity?

The UK is becoming more secular year on year. Animosity to other faiths is racism.

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LaraH39@reddit

What do you think one of the causes of sexism is?

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Certain branches of Christianity are declining, especially Catholicism. Catholic communities were most Irish or Italian and socalised together and went to school together. There was also West Indian Catholics in the same communities not just because of the religion but there was the unspoken empathy of what it's like being an immigrant and the discrimination, it kept communities together. Things changed because younger generations grew less interested in religion and the same with other branches of Christianity.

I think the 'resurgence' of Christianity is obviously a right wing attempt and virtue signaling reclamation.

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miemcc@reddit

A bit of both. Congregations of Protestant and Catholic churches are dropping as some people become more secular, and older members die off.

But other religions have stronger followings, Sihkism, Hinduism, and Islamic faiths have stronger, tighter communities and tighter faiths. Their growth is largely from the UKs acceptance of our colonial failings, the expulsions from Uganda, partition between India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, acceptance of Military Service of Indians, Sihks, and Gurkhali in particular.

I do not have figures immediately available to substantiate my thoughts, but I would suggest that we are NOT being 'overrun', in the way that UK and US right-wing figures suggest.

Yes, there are areas were particular communities congregate. I don't like the term ghetto, too many links back to WW2 and other conflicts. But it is valid in discussing ethnic groups clustering into areas.

My partner was HK Chinese, she told me about the big cluster in places such as Poplar in London, the migration around the country (her parents ran a Chinese/British takeway in a Nottinghamshire mining village). The new areas where HK Chinese settle (SW London for instance)

It is a massively complicated picture, and the press and political parties are way too keen to try and simplify it

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Aware-Plankton-8711@reddit

I hope so religious people are no better than flat earthers at this point maybe worse 🤔

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iamthefirebird@reddit

One does not need to be Christian to be hateful to other religions. One does not need to be religious at all to be hateful to those who are, and that hate does not need to be evenly spread between all religions. It's xenophobia, or Islamophobia specifically, or racism, or all of the above plus even more I haven't named.

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ButteredNun@reddit

Seems there’s a swelling of faux Christianity among those against “them there muslamists”

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UserCannotBeVerified@reddit

Down with shakira law! Down with aslan!

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Remote_Development13@reddit

It's a tricky one

Christianity has definitely declined amongst the white British population in recent decades, but I think some outsiders have a view that nearly all of the immigrants into Britain have been from Muslim backgrounds

This just isnt true - my mom is Irish and a practicing Catholic and I was raised in the faith. I'll go church with her a few times a year because it makes her happy and tbh it can be nice from time to time as it's an hohr where you're alone with your thoughts, no screens to distract you etc.

The church my mom goes to is noticeably busier than it was when she was dragging me there as a teenager, and in large part that's due to people from eastern European, African and Asian backgrounds joining the congregation. I believe this is also true for a lot of Anglican churches as well, whilst there is a range of well attended churches of various other Christian denominations

Other religions are quite heavily clustered in certain areas of the country - I'm from the West Midlands and there are a lot of Sikhs around here (generally, even a lot of people who are politically further right have a neutral or even positive view of Sikhs)

It's complicated and somewhat multi-faceted, basically

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ButteredNun@reddit

Seems there’s a swelling of faux Christianity among those against “them there muslamists”