Fewer residents of Wyre Forest identify as Christian

Humanists UK ran campaigns in the lead up to the censuses in 2011 and 2021 encouraging non-religious people to select "no religion". The organisation said the recent figures should be a "wake-up call" for reconsidering the role religion has in society.

Office for National Statistics data from the 2021 census shows 53 per cent of people in Wyre Forest selected Christianity as their religion, down significantly from 69 per cent in the last survey a decade before.

About 39 per cent selected "no religion" last year, a leap from 23 per cent in 2011.

Of these, 39 people said they were agnostic, while 13 selected Atheism.

The area follows trends across England and Wales where 46 per cent of the population described themselves as Christian in the recent census, down from 59 per cent a decade earlier. It is the first time the proportion has dropped below half.

And the percentage of people saying they had no religion jumped from around a quarter (25 per cent) in 2011 to over a third (37 per cent) last year.

St Mary and All Saints’ Church (Image: Newsquest)

The Most Rev Stephen Cottrell said: "It’s not a great surprise that the census shows fewer people in this country identifying as Christian than in the past, but it still throws down a challenge to us not only to trust that God will build his kingdom on Earth but also to play our part in making Christ known."

Nationally, there were increases in the proportion of people describing themselves as Muslim, with 6.5 per cent selecting the religion last year, up from 4.9 per cent in the previous census. More people also identified as Hindu, increasing from 1.5 per cent in 2011 to 1.7 per cent in 2021.

The figures show more people in Wyre Forest identify as Muslim, with 1,056 selecting the religion last year, up from 681 in 2011.

Additionally, 126 residents said they were Hindu in the survey, up from 111 10 years ago.

There were 234 Buddhists and 42 residents who selected Judaism.

Of the other options, 188 said they were pagans and 11 said they practice Heathenism.

The National Secular Society said the figures show that aspects of society such as the Anglican establishment and daily prayers and worship in parliament and schools, are “all inappropriate, hopelessly outdated and fail to reflect the country we actually live in” and called for reform.

Stephen Evans said, the society's chief executive, said: “It’s official – we are no longer a Christian country.”