Islam: Fastest-Growing Religion in Britain
Hundreds of Britons are converting to Islam every month. Many youngsters in prison are becoming attracted to Islam by the prospect of getting better food and superior treatment.
Islam is the fastest-growing religion in England and Wales, according to new census data
that the British government says "describes the defining
characteristics of the population, who we are, how we live and what we
do."
The latest tranche of data from Britain's 2011 Census was released on
December 11. The statistics are for England and Wales only; the census
in Northern Ireland and Scotland is separate and the government will
release those figures at a later date.
The census data shows that the number of Christians in England and
Wales declined by 11% (4.1 million) during the past decade, from 37.3
million in 2001 to 33.2 million in 2011.
During the same period, the Muslim population in England and Wales
increased by 80% (1.2 million), from 1.5 million in 2001 to 2.7 million
in 2011, making it the second-largest religion in Britain.
The third-largest religion in England and Wales is Hinduism
(817,000), followed by Sikhism (423,000), Buddhism (248,000) and Judaism
(263,000).
As a proportion of the population as a whole (56.07 million people
were counted in the census), the number of those describing themselves
as Christian has dropped from 72% in 2001 to 59% in 2011. The number of
Muslims has increased from 3% to 5% over a decade.
To be sure, some analysts believe the true number of Muslims in
Britain may be much higher than indicated by the census data. This is
because the religion question was the only voluntary question on the
2011 Census and 7.2% of people did not answer the question.
It is believed that many of those who completed the census data were
reluctant to identify themselves as Muslims and that the true number of
Muslims in the country is considerably higher than the 5% indicated by
the census data.
The number of people who say they have no religious affiliation
jumped by 83%, from 7.7 million in 2001 to 14.4 million in 2011. In
proportional terms, this would imply that one-quarter of people in
England and Wales now identify as being non-religious.
The census data corroborates information gleaned from other recent surveys. For example, the 2012 British Social Attitudes Survey
found that only about half of Britons claim a religious affiliation,
down sharply from 20 years ago, when two out of three did. Barely a
quarter of young people identify themselves as religious.
If the increase in agnosticism and atheism in Britain is mostly
generational, the surge in the number of Muslims is due to immigration
and conversion.
The census data shows that during the past decade, England and Wales
experienced their greatest-ever population growth (7.1%) in any 10-year
period since 1800. Much of this increase is due to immigration.
In real terms, 13% (or 7.5 million) of the population of England and
Wales was born abroad. Of that number, 3.8 million arrived between 2001
and 2011. In other words, most of the immigrants living in England and
Wales today arrived within the past 10 years.
The census data shows that London is now the most multicultural
region in Britain with the highest proportion of people identifying
themselves as Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu and Jewish. The northeastern and
northwestern parts of Britain have the highest proportion of Christians
and Wales has the highest proportion of people reporting no religion.
Knowsley, a borough near Liverpool in northwest England, has the
highest proportion of people reporting to be Christian, at 80.9%. Tower
Hamlets, a borough in east London, has the highest proportion of
Muslims, at 34.5% (nearly seven times the figure for England and Wales
as a whole). Norwich, a city in eastern England, has the highest
proportion of the population reporting no religion, at 42.5%.
The data shows that 13 of the 20 fastest-growing boroughs are those
with high concentrations of Muslim residents, led by Tower Hamlets and
Newham in east London. The 2011 Census shows that nearly 40% (or about
one million) of the Muslims in England and Wales live in London.
Although immigration is the biggest factor in the rise of Islam in
Britain, it is also true that hundreds of Britons are converting to
Islam every month.
According to a recent survey conducted by an inter-faith group called Faith Matters,
the number of British converts to Islam recently passed the 100,000
mark, and there are as many as 5,000 new conversions nationwide each
year. Previous estimates had placed the total number of Muslim converts
in Britain at between 14,000 and 25,000.
The survey revealed that nearly two thirds of the converts were
women, more than 70% were white and the average age at conversion was
just 27.
The survey, conducted by Kevin Brice from Swansea University in
Wales, asked converts for their views on the negative aspects of British
culture. They identified "alcohol and drunkenness," a "lack of morality
and sexual permissiveness" and "unrestrained consumerism."
More than one in four acknowledged there was a "natural conflict"
between being a devout Muslim and living in Britain. Nine out of ten
women converts said their change of religion had led to them dressing
more conservatively. More than half started wearing a head scarf and 5%
had worn the burqa.
Separately, government authorities recently revealed that an
increasing number of inmates at British prisons are converting to Islam.
For example, one-third of the inmates at one of Britain's most
notorious youth jails are Muslims and the religion is attracting a large
number of converts.
Prison insiders say most non-Muslims are locked up during Friday
prayers because so many guards are needed to monitor the lunchtime
service. As a consequence, many disillusioned youngsters are becoming
attracted to Islam by the prospect of getting better food and superior
treatment at the prison.
Most conversions to Islam are being triggered by a combination of
increasing proselytizing activity by Muslims as well as by a growing
disaffection with Christianity.
Some observers say the decline of traditional Christian churches in
Britain, a trend that is being accompanied by the demise of
Judeo-Christian moral codes in British society, is creating a spiritual
vacuum that Islam is beginning to fill.
In any event, all indications are that a growing number of Britons
who grew up in nominally Christian households are converting to Islam.
This partially explains why the number of Muslims is increasing while
the number of Christians is declining.
This trend can be expected to continue. In a study released in 2005,
the British-based association Christian Research said that successive
generations attend church less frequently than previous ones.
The study, English Church Census 2005,
predicted that the number of Christians attending Sunday services in
Britain will fall by two-thirds over the next three decades. The study
also expected that poor attendance will force some 18,000 churches to
close.
At the same time, all indications are that the Muslim population in
Britain will continue to grow in the future. At the current rates of
growth, the number of Muslims will double again by the time the next
census is conducted in 2021, and will then make up 10% of the
population.
Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute. He is also Senior Fellow for European Politics at the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group. Follow him on Facebook.
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