Go to: Issue Description - Key Facts - Table of Contents
Issue Description
Although now only 29% of people would say that they are religious according to a 2011 poll, a recent study showed that media coverage of religion has risen since the early 1980s. The controversy surrounding Muslim women who choose to wear the burqa, discussions over whether some Christians are discriminated against because of their beliefs and a surge in applications to set up ‘free’ faith schools are just a few of the debates hitting the headlines. This book examines the issues.
The information comes from a wide range of sources and includes government reports and statistics, newspaper articles, features, magazine articles and surveys, literature from lobby groups and charitable organisations.
return to top of page
Key Facts
- Buddhism began in Northern India over 2,500 years ago. (page 1)
- Hindus follow the sacred texts known as the Vedas (knowledge). They believe in an all-encompassing oneness which cannot be described, an ultimate reality, referred to as Brahman. (page 2)
- In a poll carried out by YouGov in March 2011 on behalf of the British Humanist Association, when asked the census question ‘What is your religion?’, 61% of people in England and Wales ticked a religious box (53.48% Christian and 7.22% other) while 39% ticked ‘No religion’. (page 6)
- In the UK, those who describe themselves as non-religious have risen from 31% to 51% between 1983 and 2009, according to the British Social Attitudes survey’s 27th report issued in 2011. (page 7)
- Two-thirds of the British public agree with the statement ‘the burqa should be banned in Britain’, a YouGov poll found following the ban on the niqab, or any face covering (with a few exceptions), which came into force in France in April 2011. (page 22)
- People are twice as likely to say the media is to blame for Islamophobia (29%) than far-right groups (13%), or indeed Muslims themselves either abroad (14%) or in the UK (11%). (page 23)
- Religious hate crimes happen when someone is attacked or threatened because of their religion or their beliefs. (page 25)
return to top of page
Table of Contents
Chapter One: Faith in Britain
Faith and culture in the community, Religion today, Religion and belief, Traditional practice may be down, but media coverage of religion is up, Oxford study: belief in God is natural, Activities.
Chapter Two: Discrimination and Tolerance
Faith schools may promote social inequality, Does God belong in the classroom?, Religion or belief: rights at work, For and against the face veil, Two-thirds of Brits want burqa ban, British public most likely to blame the media for Islamophobia, Religious hate crime, Activities.
