Andrew Copson of Humanists UK says we must recognise non-religious people as a community with a positive, ethical worldview that deserves equal standing in the public squareSun 5 Apr 2026
The retraction of the Bible Society’s report on Gen Z church attendance (YouGov withdraws survey said to show rising church attendance in England and Wales, 26 March) is a welcome moment of clarity, but the “fraudulent” data identified by YouGov only tells half the story. The report’s central premise, that young people are flocking back to the pews, was always an outlier when measured against the gold-standard British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey.
Our new analysis of the BSA data shows that six in 10 people aged 16 to 34 identify with no religion. Furthermore, this is not a “phase” of youthful rebellion; 94% of those raised without religion remain non-religious as adults. For this generation, the search for meaning is not found in dogma, but in the humanist values of reason, kindness and personal responsibility.
As the Church of England’s identity falls to just one in 10 of the general population, the disconnect between our national institutions and the British public has never been wider. We must stop treating the non-religious as a demographic absence and recognise them as a community with a positive, ethical worldview that deserves equal standing in the public square.
Andrew Copson
Chief executive, Humanists UK
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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/05/there-is-no-revival-of-christianity-in-britain
AI Overview
World’s largest religion by population is still Christianity …Christianity is the largest religious group in Europe, with roughly two-thirds of Europeans identifying as Christian as of 2020. Despite a declining population due to secularization, it remains the predominant faith, divided into Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant traditions. The second-largest group is the religiously unaffiliated.
Pew Research Center
Key Details on Religious Demographics
Largest Group: Christianity (~67% of population in 2020).
Declining Trends: The number of Christians in Europe dropped by 9% between 2010 and 2020.
Fastest Growing: The religiously unaffiliated (“nones”) grew by 37% in that same decade.
Second Largest Group: Religiously unaffiliated (roughly 25%).
Third Largest Group: Muslims (~6% of the population).
Pew Research Center
Regional Breakdown
Western/Central Europe: Dominated by Catholicism (e.g., France, Spain, Italy, Poland).
Northern Europe: Primarily Protestant traditions.
Eastern Europe: Primarily Orthodox Christianity (e.g., Russia, Greece).
Southeastern Europe/Balkans: Significant Muslim populations exist in areas like Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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Future Projections
While Christians remain the majority, their share of the population is projected to decline, with the religiously unaffiliated and Muslim populations expected to grow in the coming decades.
Pew Research Center