Fewer residents of Dacorum identify as Christian

Fewer people identify as Christian and more people are non-religious in Dacorum than a decade ago, new census figures show.

Humanists UK ran campaigns in the lead up to the censuses in 2011 and 2021 encouraging non-religious people to select "no religion". The organisation said the recent figures should be a "wake-up call" for reconsidering the role religion has in society.

Office for National Statistics data from the 2021 census shows 46% of people in Dacorum selected Christianity as their religion (71,955), down significantly from 58% in the last survey a decade before. About 41% selected "no religion" last year, a leap from 30% in 2011. Of these, 72 people said they were agnostic, while 52 selected atheism.

The area follows trends across England and Wales where 46% of the population described themselves as Christian in the recent census, down from 59% a decade earlier. It is the first time the proportion has dropped below half. And the percentage of people saying they had no religion jumped from around a quarter (25%) in 2011 to over a third (37%) last year.

The Most Rev Stephen Cottrell said: "It’s not a great surprise that the census shows fewer people in this country identifying as Christian than in the past, but it still throws down a challenge to us not only to trust that God will build his kingdom on Earth but also to play our part in making Christ known."

Nationally, there were increases in the proportion of people describing themselves as Muslim, with 6.5% selecting the religion last year, up from 4.9% in the previous census. More people also identified as Hindu, increasing from 1.5% in 2011 to 1.7% in 2021.

The figures show more people in Dacorum identify as Muslim, with 4,869 selecting the religion last year, up from 3,116 in 2011. Additionally, 2,547 residents said they were Hindu in the survey, up from 1,905 10 years ago. There were 726 Buddhists and 896 residents who selected Judaism. Of the other options, 143 said they were pagans and eight said they practice Heathenism.

The census also found that eight people identify with Satanism, 10 people are Druids while 12 are Rastafarian.