to think we no longer live in a Christian country

[orlantina]

More than 53% of people have no faith - according to a recent survey.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41150792

That figure changes to 71% amongst 18-25 yr olds.

It surveyed 3000 adults - so it would be interesting to look behind the stats but it seems that more than half the country have no religion.

Christianity is still probably the most common religion out there.

Should this have implications for areas of national life?

"implications for areas of national life?"

Yeah, well, when they started calling whole groups of us and others terrorists, knocking us off in endless wars and impoverishing us to create cheap labour, abusing us and our children we kind of lost faith in their version of Christianity big time . Definitely not jnterested in Satanism as an alternative though

Our national holidays are around the Christian (yes I know this is from pagan) calendar i can't see that changing soon

I would like to see secular education

And no religion doesn't cause wars it's humans that cause wars religion divides people if we do not group over religion we group in other ways, class, where we live, political beliefs, land and so on

To think that if we had no religion we would have world peace is naive

He who believes in nothing believes anything

why do people put so much stock into somewhat clever sounding bites?

The holocaust of course

the main target was a religious minority by a religious group whose hate for the minority had been brewing for two thousand years.

I'd say religion had a part.

It's not like the athiests have been out canvassing for recruits. The Christian religion is being abandoned simply because people don't have a compelling reason to believe or join in.

I think it is going to be increasingly hard to legitimise the role Christianity plays in state schools and politics.

It is interesting that a nation like the US that has a separate Church and State seems to be very religious - Trump declared yesterday a day of prayer and he is forever mentioning God in his tweets.

We don't have that here - but Christianity and specifically the C of E still has a lot of privilege in the UK and how the UK us run.

Satan likes tea?!
One would have thought he'd be more in to absinthe or 100% proof gut-rot!

Having a strong moral compass and knowing Right from Wrong has nothing to do with worshipping a higher power or expecting some kind reward in some kind of afterlife etc.
Leading a good life has its own rewards and validation by a higher power is to easy to use for nefarious purposes.

IME religious and non-religious people can be good or bad people, or complicated shades of in-between.

Of course Satanism is on the rise, how else do you explain Katie Hopkins and Nigel Farage (though I feel I'm insulting Satan there, comparing him to those two specimens).

NotaCleverName: A fair few of the top strata have always been into Satanism. eg Aleister Crowley, Nietsche etc.

The holocaust of course extended to people with disabilities, people of colour, sexual deviants , the list was endless.

Actually, no.

The 'Holocaust' began in 1941 and was planned as the "final solution to the Jewish question".

The murders of other minority groups that happened before 1941 are often grouped in with the Holocaust, but were not, in fact, part of the mass exterminations which actually formed "the Holocaust". The SS, Einsatzgruppen etc. were all committing atrocities prior to the development of the "Final Solution", but the "Final Solution" refers only to Jews, not to any other minority group.

We need to pretend we ate or they'll ban Christmas.

superbeagle Thanks for that - I didn't realise the distinction, but that's really important (especially as anti-semitism seems to be on the rise again, alas).

Satan does have the better couture IMO

Ah, shit, now I was inappropriately flippant, sorry

Many of those involved in the Holocaust and other atrocities of the 20th century were raised as Christians.
Although Adolf was not keen on the Church, saw it as a threat by dint of how powerful it was. But hey ho, many powerful church people quite liked his ideas so on the whole they got on fine

Does this contempt for religion and desire for it to be eradicated apply to all religions or just Christianity?

A very pertinent question

Personally I don't want any religions to be eradicated; I simply want them all to be divorced from state or legal influence - to become a purely private practice if you like, so that those who feel religion brings benefits can go right on enjoying them and the rest of us can avoid interference by ideologies we may or may not share

It wasn't me who made the original comment, but I've looked into Satanism (not with any intent - just bored, night-time internetting) and the official church of satan defines its members as atheists, believing in individualism and liberty - at odds with a Christian philosophy of following a prescribed set of behaviours (the commandments) and worshipping an omnipotent god who punishes sins. It was fascinating actually and doesn't take much of a stretch to relate their stated beliefs to much of popular culture we see around us today!

the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist

I guess you still have to believe in God though to believe this

If 70-odd% of younger people are of "no religion" then I am hopeful in the future our country will become secular.
Being of "no religion" may still mean you are spiritual in some way but do not follow an organised faith. Faith these days is much more absteact and fluid than it once was.
I am a mousy atheist keyboard warrior but still think although we are no longer a Christian country like some politicians lead us to believe, we still have Christian traditions.

I have no view on people individually having faith or not, that's up to them.

What I do have a view in is the relationship between church and state in a democracy. The CoE has no business having an unelected role in our constitution, a privelidged role in state education (the supposedly compulsory Christian assembly in every school) etc. And that is the case whether the majority of the population are religious or not.

But I hope this news adds weight to the need for an end to the anachronism of an established church.

Does this contempt for religion and desire for it to be eradicated apply to all religions or just Christianity? Do those of you who despise religion also oppose the practice of Islam - which is on the rise in the UK? Or not?

I do. I think Islam is even worse.

noisy.not mousy abstract

I think it's high time the link between the Church of England and the state should be severed - no more bishops in House of Lords, no more monarch as head of church etc.

I would welcome all public spaces being secular spaces, with the exception of places of worship. Religion has no place in schools, parliament or any other state funded institution.

Worship your fairy story people in private

Really ?!! Some people on here are unbelievably rude ! No respect for other people's beliefs !

Believe what you want, but why should people respect your beliefs?

70% who do not identify as having a faith, yet we have a majority of young people who are good, compassionate, inclusive ethical individuals. Hope for the future then.