Christianity in Britain could be facing
a collapse with new figures suggesting it is declining 50 per cent
faster 
than previously thought, The Daily Telegraph reports.
An analysis of the 2011 census shows
that a decade of mass immigration helped mask the scale of decline in
Christian affiliation among the British-born population – while
driving a dramatic increase in Islam, particularly among the young.
The figures suggest that large numbers
of those who described themselves as Christians in the last census
were in fact foreign-born.
According to the figures, only a
minority of people will describe themselves as Christians within the
next decade, for the first time.
The figures also show that one in 10
under 25s in Britain is now a Muslim.
The proportion of young people who
describe themselves as even nominal Christians has dropped below half
for the first time.
Initial results from the 2011 census
published last year showed that the total number of people in England
and Wales who described themselves as Christian fell by 4.1 million –
a decline of 10 per cent.
But new analysis from the Office for
National Statistics shows that that figure was bolstered by 1.2
million foreign-born Christians, including Polish Catholics and
evangelicals from countries such as Nigeria.
They disclosed that there were in fact
5.3 million fewer British-born people describing themselves as
Christians, a decline of 15 per cent in just a decade.
At the same time the number of Muslims
in England and Wales surged by 75 per cent – boosted by almost
600,000 more foreign born followers of the Islamic faith.
While almost half of British Muslims
are under the age of 25, almost a quarter of Christians are over 65.
The average age of a British Muslim is
just 25, not far off half that of a British Christian.
Younger people also drove a shift away
from religion altogether, with 6.4 million more people describing
themselves as having no faith than 10 years earlier.
Secular campaigners said the new
figures showed that Christianity had now dropped below “critical
mass” making the case for disestablishing the Church of England
stronger.
But it insisted that while there had
been a significant drop in “nominal” Christians, the core of the
Church remained firm.
Prof David Coleman, Professor of
Demography at Oxford University, said: “This is a very substantial
change – it is difficult to see whether any other change in the
census could have been remotely as big.
“But I wonder how far it reflects an
overarching change in society where it is more acceptable more normal
to say that you are not religious or are not Christian.”
A spokesman for the Church of England
said: “These figures highlight the diversity of Christianity in
this country today, something which has been increasing for decades
and shows the relevance of Christianity to people from all
backgrounds.
“These figures once again confirm
that this remains a faithful nation and that the fall in the numbers
identifying themselves as Christians is a challenge but – as you
can see from the stability of Church of England attendance figures –
the committed worshipping centre of the church remains firm.
“The challenge to the Church is to
reconnect with the nominal.”