Theo Hobson Theo Hobson

Britain is a nation of quiet Christians

The latest survey says that under half of us (42 per cent) identify as Christian, and that just over half have no religion. Does this show that we have finally turned the corner, and are no longer a Christian nation? Well, it’s a very curved corner – we’ve been turning it for about fifty years. But on one level we remain a Christian nation until a movement comes along that redefines us in explicitly secular terms – and there’s no real sign of it.

It might sound perverse, but I think these figures show religion to be surprisingly popular. For consider how little religion there is in popular – or indeed less popular – culture. A Martian who visited Britain and studied our culture would assume that just a few per cent sympathised with religion. He (or she?) would see that almost no television was devoted to religion, and that Radio 4 saw science as the new religion, and that the arts were more often critical than respectful of religion. Also, he-she would note that very few people attended weekly worship. Given the secular nature of mainstream culture, and such low church attendance, it is surely very surprising that so many of us say we are in some sense religious.

What’s going on? Doubtless many of the ‘Christians’ are just ticking that box out of habit, or maybe out of a sense that it’s part of traditional patriotism. But it remains the case that there is a widespread sympathy with Christianity that finds little cultural expression. It seems that a large sector of us – maybe about a third – feel vaguely Christian but don’t know how to express it.

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