Life in the UK Explained

Religion: a historically Christian country

Story 7 of 9

Historically, the UK is a Christian country. Here are the results of the 2011 Census, the count of everyone living in the country that takes place every ten years:

Bar chart from the 2011 Census: Christian 59%, no religion 25%, Muslim 4.8%, Hindu 1.5%, Sikh 0.8%, Jewish and Buddhist each under 0.5%
The numbers to remember for the test: Christian 59% and no religion 25%. Every other religion is much smaller.

Across the UK you'll also find places of worship for other faiths: mosques, Hindu temples, synagogues (Jewish), gurdwaras (Sikh) and Buddhist temples. But the law gives everyone the right to pick their own religion, or to have none at all. When the 2011 Census asked, a quarter of people (25%) answered that they had no religion.

The Hindu temple in Neasden, London: a white marble building with many pointed towers
The Hindu temple in Neasden, north-west London, built from marble and limestone and opened in 1995. Photo: Mark Ahsmann, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Quiz

According to the 2011 Census, roughly what percentage of people in the UK described themselves as Christian?

Chapter contents: The UK Today