Some ‘Other’ Religious Groups in the UK: Key Information
‘Other’ Religions Populations
UK
|
178,837
|
England
|
143,811
|
Wales
|
6,909
|
Scotland
|
26,974
|
Northern Ireland
|
1,143
|
As a proportion of the total population in local authority areas, in England, the greatest concentration of respondents identifying themselves as ‘other’ religions in the 2001 Census write-in option is found in:
Local Authority
|
% of Population
|
Total Numbers
|
Harrow
|
2.0%
|
4,208
|
Brent
|
1.1%
|
2,977
|
Barnet
|
1.0%
|
3,215
|
Brighton and Hove
|
0.8%
|
2,106
|
The City of London
|
0.4%
|
52
|
Those writing in ‘other’ religions can be seen as being grouped in the following ways.
Census Respondents recorded under ‘Other’ but coming from ‘Christian-Related/Contested’ Groups in England and Wales
|
Total Numbers in England
|
Total Numbers in Wales
|
British Israelites
|
30
|
0
|
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints/Mormons
|
11,673
|
1,049
|
Christadelphians
|
2,123
|
245
|
Christian Scientists
|
556
|
22
|
Christian Spiritualists *
|
1,246
|
215
|
Jehovah’s Witnesses
|
65,453
|
5,198
|
Unitarians **
|
3,604
|
383
|
|
* As distinct from those who responded as ‘Spiritualists’.
**As distinct from those responding as ‘Unitarian Universalists’
|
Census Respondents Coded to a Group Connected with Paganism
Tradition
|
Total Numbers in England
|
Total Numbers in Wales
|
|
Asatru
|
90
|
3
|
|
Celtic Pagan
|
460
|
48
|
|
Druidism
|
1,568
|
89
|
|
Pagan
|
28,943
|
1,714
|
|
Wicca
|
6,844
|
383
|
|
Totals of Pagan-Related *
|
37,905
|
2,237
|
|
* 368 respondents in England and 38 in Wales were recorded under ‘Animism’ which may also be seen as related to Paganism. In addition, there were 95 responses in England and 3 in Wales that were recorded as ‘ancestor worship’ that could either relate to (see a table below) forms of religion connected with people of Chinese descent and/or to Pagan-related traditions. Finally, it should be noted that 265 respondents in England and 13 in Wales were recorded as ‘Heathens’ (which is a form of Pagan tradition as well as a more general linguistic descriptor for ‘irreligiousness’) whom the Office for National Statistics coded among the figure for those of ‘no religion’.
|
Census Respondents Coded to a Group Often Seen as being a ‘New Religious Movement’
Group
|
Total Numbers in England
|
Total Numbers in Wales
|
|
Hare Krishna
|
612
|
28
|
|
Scientology
|
1,757
|
24
|
|
Unification Church *
|
241
|
11
|
|
Those writing in ‘Unificationist’ were coded by the Office for National Statistics to the overall ‘Christian’ data, but are listed here since they project a more ‘independent’ and ‘universalist’ role.
|
Census Respondents Coded to a Group That Can be Seen as being, in some way, ‘Hindu-Related’
Group
|
Total Numbers in England
|
Total Numbers in Wales
|
Brahma Kumaris
|
323
|
8
|
Divine Light Mission
|
18
|
3
|
Eckankar
|
417
|
9
|
Raja Yoga
|
253
|
8
|
Census Respondents Coded to Traditions That May be Seen as Being Related to the Religious Life of People of Chinese Descent
Tradition
|
Total Numbers in England
|
Total Numbers in Wales
|
|
Chinese Religions
|
141
|
7
|
|
Confucianist
|
80
|
3
|
|
Taoist
|
3,576
|
16
|
|
Tin Tao
|
4
|
0
|
|
As has previously been noted there were also 95 responses in England and 3 in Wales coded to ‘Ancestor Worship’ which could relate to Chinese forms of religiosity and/or to ‘Ancestor Worship’ in the context of Pagan-Related traditions.
|
Other Census Respondents Coded to ‘Other’ Religious Groups
Group
|
Total Numbers in England
|
Total Numbers in Wales
|
Church of All Religion
|
60
|
10
|
Deist
|
621
|
18
|
Druze
|
260
|
0
|
Free Church of Love
|
49
|
0
|
Mysticism
|
150
|
8
|
New Age
|
869
|
36
|
Occult
|
96
|
3
|
Own Belief System
|
3,056
|
203
|
Pantheism
|
1,516
|
87
|
Rastafarian
|
4,592
|
100
|
Sant Mat
|
53
|
0
|
Santeri
|
21
|
0
|
Satanist
|
1,459
|
66
|
Spiritualist
|
30,124
|
2,280
|
Theism
|
489
|
16
|
Unitarian Universalist
|
30
|
0
|
Universalist
|
914
|
57
|
Vodun
|
208
|
5
|
Census Respondents Coded to Stances Often Associated with as Being as of ‘No Religion’
Tradition
|
Total Numbers in England
|
Total Numbers in Wales
|
|
|
|
|
Free Thinker
|
571
|
15
|
Humanist
|
7,866
|
430
|
Internationationalist
|
3
|
0
|
Rationalist
|
37
|
0
|
Realist
|
104
|
0
|
Secularist
|
11
|
0
|
Other Respondents
In addition to all the above, there were 22,187 respondents in England and 610 in Wales whose responses to the ‘write-in’ for ‘Other’ have not been added to the specific coded groupings.
There were also 17,894 respondents in England and 1,412 in Wales who indicated that they were of ‘Other’ but without giving a specific ‘write-in’ and who were therefore coded as ‘Other Religion (Not Described)’.
Written by Professor Paul Weller
|
