Data shows changing face of religion in our region
Fewer people identify as Christian and more people are non-religious in Portsmouth than a decade ago, census figures show.
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 39 per cent of people in Portsmouth selected Christianity as their religion, down significantly from 52 per cent in the last survey a decade before.
About 47 per cent selected ‘no religion’, a leap from 35 per cent in 2011. Of these, 153 people said they were agnostic, while 47 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.
Nationally, there were increases in the proportion of people describing themselves as Muslim, with 6.5 per cent selecting the religion, 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.
More people in Portsmouth identify as Muslim, with 10,174 selecting the religion last year, up from 7,162 in 2011.
Additionally, 1,596 residents said they were Hindu in the survey, up from 1,282 10 years ago, while there were 1,077 Buddhists and 200 residents who selected Judaism.
Of the other options, 359 said they were pagans and 22 said they practice Heathenism.
In Gosport 45 per cent selected Christianity, down from 59 per cent a decade before. About 48 per cent selected ‘no religion’, a leap from 33 per cent in 2011.
In Fareham 49 per cent in Fareham selected Christianity, down from 64 per cent. About 44 per cent selected ‘no religion’,aleapfrom27percent.
And in Havant, 45 per cent selected Christianity, down from 59 per cent. About 47 per centselected‘noreligion’,aleap from 32 per cent.