Britain 'no longer a Christian country': Have your say
Britain is no longer a Christian country and almost half of the UK population are now 'non-religious', a major report said today.
The report said there had been a "general decline" in Christian affiliation - with two in five people now identifying as such - coupled with a move away from mainstream denominations to evangelical and Pentecostal churches.
The Commission on Religion and Belief in Public Life (Corab) said major national and civil events, including coronation ceremonies, should have a more "pluralist character" to reflect a shift in religious beliefs in British society.
Britons of all faiths and none needed a "new settlement" in public policy because the national picture had "transformed beyond recognition", the report's authors said.
Among the "striking" trends, the report said, was a rise in the number of people who identified as non-religious - now amounting to almost half the UK population.
But Baroness Butler-Sloss, who chaired the commission, said issues such as the Paris terrorist attacks and the banning of a Church of England advert in cinemas showed religious beliefs are still central to society.
She said: "From recent events in France, to the schools so many of our children attend and even the adverts screened in cinemas, for good and ill religion and belief impacts directly on all our daily lives.
"The proposals in this report amount to a 'new settlement for religion and belief in the UK', intended to provide space and a role for all within society, regardless of their beliefs or absence of them."
Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism have also overtaken Judaism as the largest non-Christian faiths in Britain.
