How the UK Has More Atheists Than Believers in God

The news that shocked the UK some time ago was that Christianity was no longer the majority religion, having declined to less than half, amid a significant rise in the number of atheists and an increasing Muslim minority.

Atheism is on the rise, with only 1% of people aged 18-24 identify as Church of England, according to the British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey for 2018, while just a few years ago, more than half of Britons declared they did not belong to any religion.

After a three-year research project called ‘Exploring Atheism’, sociology academics unveiled that there are a lot of people in the UK who don’t believe in God. 

What are the reasons for this shift? Is it simply a social change or an intellectual revolution against religious heritage? And what is its impact on British society?

Spiritual Boredom

Sociology academics recently surveyed more than 1,200 adults about their experiences with five popular spiritual practices, including yoga, meditation, silent meetings, Catholic sermons, and pilgrimage.

The results of their study, published in the Communications Psychology scientific journal, revealed that many people reported feeling bored during these practices.

They also revealed that pilgrimage was the least boring of the five spiritual experiences, while Catholic sermons were rated the most boring.

According to the researchers, boredom may have a negative impact on motivation and mindfulness during spiritual practices, and it can also mitigate any positive effects.

“Our research shows that boredom in spiritual contexts can pose a serious obstacle, which reduces the transformative power of these practices,” said Dr Thomas Gotz, first author of the study. 

As for why participants reported that spiritual experiences were boring, the researchers discovered three main reasons.

They explained that the results show that the primary triggers of spiritual boredom are feelings of being overly or under-challenged, as well as a lack of personal significance for those engaging in spiritual activity.

Although Catholic sermons were rated as the most boring, the researchers say this probably doesn't discourage people from going to church.

They explained that many participants may attend Catholic services for reasons unrelated to the sermon, such as enjoying the hymn singing or the quiet elements of the service.

Therefore, some attendees may tolerate a sermon, even if it is boring, in order to experience other aspects of the service they enjoy.

Atheism

This study comes shortly after a research project examining why people reject religion found that the number of people in the UK who identify as an atheist is greater than those who say they believe in God, according to the Daily Mail.

‘Explaining Atheism’, a three-year program overseen by Queen’s University Belfast in collaboration with other academic institutions launched in 2022, presented interim findings on the levels of atheism in multiple countries, including the UK.

According to the research project, from 2008 to 2018, the number of Britons who don't believe in God rose from 35.2% to 42.9%, leaping ahead of belief in God, which dropped from 41.8% to 37.4% during the same period. 

Additionally, those who say they don't know if God exists dropped from 21.7% in 2008 to 18.2% in 2018.

This means that the UK — England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland — whose monarch serves as head of the Church of England, has a population in which a relative majority do not believe in God.

The research revealed that the strongest influences on belief are parental upbringing and societal expectations regarding belief in God, confirming that parents' failure to pass on religious beliefs to their children is one of the main causes of the spread of atheism.

Although it has long been known that children raised by non-religious parents are more likely to grow up as non-religious people, academics found the same applies to children whose parents believe in God but do not actively participate in religious rituals.

The study said that factors such as intelligence, a broken family, rebelliousness, or fear of death did not have a strong relationship or influence in explaining why people believe in God.

In January 2013, Britain's first atheist church, dubbed ‘The Sunday Assembly Movement’, held its first meeting at The Nive, a former church auditorium in Islington, North London.

Founded by comedians Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans, Sunday Assembly has grown from one London community, to 70 congregations from Brighton to Glasgow and in eight different countries.

The meeting of the first atheist church in London has angered the Christian Church.

There is a concern that atheism is developing into a religion in its own right, with its own code of ethics and self-appointed high priests.

Some have accused Jones and Evans of orchestrating an elaborate publicity stunt, while others have found the conflation of atheism with religious practice disturbing.

Religious Shift

In recent decades, the UK has witnessed a radical shift in its religious orientations, with Christian affiliation declining significantly, while the number of atheists has increased.

According to previous figures and data, the future of religion in the UK is the continuing decline of Christianity, the resurgence of fundamentalism, the rise of non-religion, the emergence of a revitalized British Islam, and a flourishing interest in magic.

These predictions are according to Professor Linda Woodhead, head of the department of theology and religious studies at King's College London, who says that the second generation of Muslims in the UK has witnessed the emergence of civil society organizations and charities.

British Muslims have made their voices heard, along with Muslim members of parliament and educated young people who are creating a new cultural form of British Islam.

Morris also says that Islam in the UK was invisible until the 1970s, when the first generation of South Asians had to build their infrastructure from scratch in mosques, halal butcheries, and Islamic schools.

The Church of England runs 4,632 state schools in the UK and gives priority in admission to children of devout Christian parents.

On the other hand, the 26 Anglican bishops sit and vote in the House of Lords, making the UK one of only three countries in the world to reserve seats in its legislative body for clergy.

The monarch is the Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and his coronation was a religious ceremony, declaring him God's chosen ruler.

As a result of this extensive presence of the Church in the UK, and after figures emerged confirming that Christianity is no longer the absolute majority religion in the kingdom, many secular institutions and individuals have called for an end to this exceptional status of the Church in the UK Constitution, considering it unfair and undemocratic.

According to data from the Office for National Statistics for the UK census in 2021, the percentage of those who consider themselves Christians in England and Wales now represents less than half of the population (about 46.2%), a significant decrease from the 2011 figure (about 59%).

Statistics have shown that non-religion and Islam are the most lucrative options for attracting new converts in the UK.

While the percentage of Christians has declined, the percentage of non-religious people has increased from 25% in 2011 to 37.2% of the population by 2021 (equivalent to 22.2 million people), and the number of Muslims has increased from 4.9% to 6.5%.

A study published by the British Parliament in early March 2012 indicated that if current trends continue, the percentage of atheists will exceed that of Christians in the UK by 2030.

The study revealed that Christianity is losing more than half a million followers annually, while the number of atheists is increasing by about 750,000 per year.