Thought for the Week - 4th December 2022

Dear Friends, 

‘Census 2021 will probably be remembered as the one in which Christianity became a minority religion in England and Wales’, so read the article in a leading UK newspaper. It went onto say that ‘the number of people identifying as Christian dropped 5.5 million in the past decade’ (The Guardian, 29/11/2022). Responding to the findings the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, said that the country has ‘left behind the era when many people almost automatically identified as Christian’, and that the Christian church would continue its work in the face of both ‘revival and decline’ (Sky News, 29/11/2022). He went on to say in an interview for BBC News, ‘It's not a great surprise that the census shows fewer people in this country identifying as Christian than in the past, but it still throws down a challenge to us not only to trust that God will build his kingdom on Earth but also to play our part in making Christ known’. The Bible Society says that the findings of Census 2021 suggest, ‘that the shift away from Christian belief happened some time before the past decade, and that people were now less willing to wear a label that did not describe them accurately’ (Church Times, 29/11/2022). In the Census the figures showed that 94 per cent of respondents (56 million) answered the voluntary religion question, and that ‘Christian’ remains the most common response (46.2 per cent, 27.5 million people) followed by ‘No Religion’ at 37.2 per cent (22.2 million), Muslim at 6.5 per cent (3.8 million), Hindu, 1.7 per cent (1 million) and Sikh 0.9 per cent (half a million). Dr Rhiannon McAleer, head of research at the Bible Society described the proportion of those identifying with a religion as notably high, saying, ‘The Census definitely does not show that we’re living in a society that turned its back on religion. However, it does appear to show that religious identity is changing’. But what does this mean for us, as Christians, today? I’m reminded of a Graham Kendrick song from the 1980s, ‘One shall tell another and he shall tell his friend, husbands, wives and children shall come following on. From house to house in families shall more be gathered in, and lights will shine in every street, so warm and welcoming. Come on in and taste the new wine, the wine of the kingdom of God. Here is healing and forgiveness, the wine of the kingdom of God.’ Our response to the 2021 Census findings is to take up the challenge to be faithful to the call of God on our lives, and to show and tell of his love in Jesus Christ, so that others can see for themselves and respond.      

Grace and peace,

Neil