Britain today is characterised by growing religious diversity alongside rapidly increasing
irreligiosity. While Christianity has historically shaped Britain’s institutions, culture and
constitutional arrangements, most Britons no longer practise religion and say it plays little
role in their personal lives. Yet religion continues to exert influence through public
institutions, law, education and community life. This research explores how the British
public understand and navigate the relationship between religion, the state and society at
a time when those arrangements appear increasingly misaligned with contemporary
attitudes.
Based on nationally representative polling of over 2,000 Britons and in-depth focus groups,
the findings reveal a public that is neither strongly pro-religion nor instinctively hostile to
faith. Instead, attitudes are defined by ambivalence, low salience and a preference for
moderation. Most Britons view religion as a private matter that can offer meaning and
community, but are uneasy when religious institutions exercise political power, receive
special privileges, or are perceived to infringe upon individual freedoms or equality.
The defining feature of religion in Britons’ personal lives is an increasing irreligiosity combined with a respect for personal faith. Almost two-thirds of Britons state that religion is not important in their own lives, and the public is slightly more likely to view religion as a force for bad than a force for good. Most of the public are neutral about the overall impact of religion on society. There is a clear consensus that religious expression should be tolerated, but this is accompanied by unease when religion seeks to impose itself where it is not wanted or used to obstruct the rights and freedoms of others
Privileges of religion
Britons see many of the UK’s traditional constitutional privileges as outdated and in need of reform. There is widespread opposition to the automatic seats for bishops in the House of Lords, with two-thirds of the public and a majority of every population segment believing this practice should end. While many Britons say they are comfortable or ambivalent about the current relationship between the Church of England and the state in a general sense, they are much more likely to oppose specific privileges when asked, even if these concerns are not always salient. Britons tend to want to find a balance between addressing what they see as unfairness in the current settlement between church and state, without necessarily tearing up historic institutions completely or completely rupturing from the status quo.