Britain stands on centuries of Christianity but the faith doesn't live in its people

While many younger people are flocking to the church, the wider decline in attendance raises existential questions

- Martha Gill

Seen from above, this country still looks Christian. Churches adorn prominent points in almost every town and village.

Many of these churches are closed and crumbling, but in 2019 those still open for worship outnumbered the nation's pubs. Britain's children can still be seen scurrying to hymns and prayers each morning a third of state-funded schools are faith-based, most of them Church of England, which comprise a quarter of primaries, while Roman Catholic institutions make up 9% of secondary state schools.

Even the Houses of Parliament look like a cathedral, with the odd stained-glass window. Inside is a culture steeped in Christianity. It is traditional to swear in new members of parliament on a Bible, and most still take their oath this way. Parliamentary sittings in both houses begin with Anglican prayers; in the House of Lords 26 Church of England bishops and archbishops cast their votes on the policies that govern Britain. Keir Starmer stands out as an atheist prime minister, but the occupants of two of the four great offices of state - David Lammy and Rachel Reeves - are practising Christians. The king is head of the Church of England, and must be a member, and Catholics are excluded from the throne.

But if the country stands on centuries of faith, that faith no longer lives in its people. As Catholics across the planet await the election of a new pope, and the more prosaic business of choosing the archbishop of Canterbury grinds on, fewer Brits are sharing in the excitement. The last census, in 2021, found that less than half of the population call themselves Christian. Numbers of Muslims and Hindus have ticked up slightly, but the biggest rise by far is among

The biggest rise by far is among people who consider themselves to be secular