We are of like mind.
I would say people of an older generation here would tend to answer based on 'how they were raised'.
My Dad would put CoE, despite being mildly anti-religious, somewhere between deist and agnostic.
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The Leftist 'No Religion' agenda on the census
- Thread starter lewisnotmiller
- Start date
We are of like mind.
I would say people of an older generation here would tend to answer based on 'how they were raised'.
My Dad would put CoE, despite being mildly anti-religious, somewhere between deist and agnostic.
Altfish
Veteran Member
No!
But many people were Christened into (say) CofE and have now lapsed and do not believe or attend church BUT because they were christened they tick CofE
Terrywoodenpic
Oldest Heretic
It is a CofE priests duty, to care for the souls of everyone in his parish of what ever religion or none.
Everyone falls under the duty of care of the Church of England. in the UK.
Anyone can attend a CofE service. Though I have noticed that not all Anglican churches will now baptise the children of, or marry non church goers.
This doesn't mean they're Christians. The question is 'What is your religion?'.
Terrywoodenpic
Oldest Heretic
I am pretty sure that many people do not understand the question that way. and just tick C of E and would claim to be Christian even though they hold no actual beliefs. Perhaps a better question would be what church denomination or religious place of worship do you attend, with a space for none. this would perhaps be more informative.
How on earth is 'What is your religion' a hard question? It's the most straightforward way of asking that question. Going to a church doesn't make one a Christian either. This isn't about one's cultural habits or norms. It's about one's beliefs.
The fact that a particular church would try to insert itself into the lives of non-members does not magically turn those non-members into members.
HonestJoe
Well-Known Member
This article does a good job of explaining the issues with the common census question (obviously a biased source but the core facts stated are accurate); 2021 Census to continue to use leading religion question
The ultimate issue is the distinction between what the people answering the question think it means and what people interpreting the results think it means. There will be some people from all sides who want to try to manipulate that to support their preferred angle but I don't think most of the objections are about simply wanting to get accurate and honest results (albeit accurate and honest results would almost certainly support the non-religious angle).
The ultimate issue is the distinction between what the people answering the question think it means and what people interpreting the results think it means. There will be some people from all sides who want to try to manipulate that to support their preferred angle but I don't think most of the objections are about simply wanting to get accurate and honest results (albeit accurate and honest results would almost certainly support the non-religious angle).
Justanatheist
Well-Known Member
I do not understand why they ask about religious beliefs, I can't think of another question on the UK census that asked about beliefs. Yet another example of religion being given special status.
Kooky
Freedom from Sanity
Is there a way to renounce membership in the CoE? In my country as a lapsed Catholic, I filled out a form and have no longer been counted among the faithful since, both in the literal and figurative sense.
Altfish
Veteran Member
I think there is a way to write to Church of England and ask to be 'un-baptised' - not sure, I was baptised but haven't been to church (apart from ceremonies) since I was about 13/14
Is there any explanatory text, or is the only guidance the question itself?
The Canadian census has been criticized for the instructions it puts on this question, since it tends to artificially decrease the number of people reporting "no religion":
As far as I can remember (maybe the text is online), there was just that question.
- What is your religion? (This question is voluntary)
Martin
Spam, wonderful spam (bloody vikings!)
It makes you wonder what practical use this information is. If less people choose CofE, are they going to close some churches?
. And if its about funding for faith schools, wouldn't you want to know whether people were actively practising a particular religion? More generally, I wonder about the relevance of a census in the information age. There's some vague guff about helping to planning services, but most of the relevant information is already held by government departments.
I think it's just interesting information to have for its own sake, and possibly just the tradition of it.It makes you wonder what practical use this information is. If less people choose CofE, are they going to close dome churches?
More generally, I wonder about the relevance of a census in the information age. There's some vague guff about helping to planning services, but most of the relevant information is already held by government departments.
Martin
Spam, wonderful spam (bloody vikings!)
I'm always dubious about the idea of "information for its own sake", particularly when it costs a lot of money to collect it.
For example, I've been retired for a number of years, but still had to give a lot information about my last employment - I couldn't see the relevance.
Possibly some of the information collected will be useful to historians, but I doubt it's much use for planning purposes, which is given as the justification.
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Augustus
…
The devious religionistas even cunningly obscured the 'no religion' box by putting it right at the top where it is rendered unintelligible and people are bound to miss it anyway
How very... British.The devious religionistas even cunningly obscured the 'no religion' box by putting it right at the top where it is rendered unintelligible and people are bound to miss it anyway
Terrywoodenpic
Oldest Heretic
A large number of C of E church goers are not on their church register, however they consider themselves Anglican. I do not know of any way to resign from the Anglican church. There is no need to. You could just stop going to church.