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LONDON, UK, August 19, 2004: Faith is not so important for the 74 percent Britons who declare themselves as Christian, but it is a crucial part of identity for Hindus and Muslims in Britain, says a government survey. Though most white Britons call themselves Christian, they admit religion plays little part in their lives. But a strikingly different picture emerges in black and Asian communities, who say their faith is a crucial part of their identity. The numbers of young Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus who stressed the importance of their religion far outstripped young Christians who professed a similar strength of faith. Just 18 percent of Christians aged 16 to 24 viewed their religion as important, but 74 percent of young Muslims, 63 percent of young Sikhs and 62 percent of young Hindus said they did.



The first detailed Home Office survey of the nation’s beliefs found that almost four out of five people expressed a religious affiliation – a result some officials regarded as surprisingly high in an increasingly secular society. The highest number (74 percent) called themselves Christian, with Muslims (two percent) and Hindus (0.8 percent) the largest of other faith groups. Almost 22 percent, nearly all white, said they had no faith. But there are signs religious affiliation made little difference to the lives of its white adherents. When asked what they considered important to their identity, religion was cited by only 17 percent of white Christians, behind family, work, age, interests, education, nationality, gender, income and social class. For black people, 70 percent of whom said they are Christian, religion is third, and Asians placed it second, only behind family. People of mixed race ranked their religion seventh.



Nearly all people who called themselves as Christian (98 percent) were white, and two percent were black. The majority of respondents who were Muslim were Asian (76 percent). Most Hindus (83 percent) and Sikhs (88 percent) also described themselves as Asian. Followers of Islam, Britain’s fastest-growing religion, tended to live in more deprived neighborhoods than other faiths. Muslim respondents were also more likely than any group to never have had a job. Fewer Christians and Muslims had degree-level qualifications than those of other religions. Hindus and Jews had higher qualifications than the national average. Highest levels of home ownership were among Sikhs (88 percent), Hindus (76 percent), Jews (74 percent) and Christians (74 percent), with the lowest among Muslims (52 percent), nearly one quarter of whom rented local authority accommodation.

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