MORE than four in ten people in Sedgemoor say they have no religion, according to the results of last year's census.

Just over half of the district's population described themselves as Christian – a higher proportion than the national average for England and Wales.

In Sedgemoor, 50.3 per cent of people selected Christianity as their religion in the 2021 census, down from around 65 per cent in 2011.

A total of 41.9 per cent selected ‘no religion’, showing an increase of 27 per cent from a decade ago.

There were increases in the number of people who identify as Muslim (598, up from 341) and Hindu (155, up from 74). 

There were 310 Buddhists, and 65 residents selected Judaism.

Nationally, 46.2 per cent of people said they were Christian, marking the first time the proportion of Christians in the England and Wales has dropped below half.

The number of people who said they had no religion increased to 37.2 per cent.

The census results have also revealed that fewer Sedgemoor residents identify as English than a decade ago, with more calling themselves British.

In total, 53.4 per cent of the district's population described themselves only as British, compared to around 13 per cent in 2011.

Only 19.2 per cent of people identified as English only – a decrease from 70 per cent compared to the last census.

Just under one in five people (18.3 per cent) called themselves English and British.

This reflects national trends. In 2011, around 58 per cent of people identified as English, whereas that figure was 15 per cent last year.

In England and Wales, 55 per cent of people said they were British, leaping from 19 per cent.

The census also asked people about their ethnicity. In total, 96.6 per cent of people in Sedgemoor identified as white, down slightly from 98 per cent in the previous census.

Additionally, 91.2 per cent called themselves white English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British, down from 95 per cent.

Other responses included Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh (1.4 per cent); Mixed or multiple ethnic groups (1.1), and Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African (0.3).

The census results have revealed a shift in ethnicities across England and Wales, with the proportion of people identifying as white falling to 82 per cent last year from 86 per cent in 2011.

Jon Wroth-Smith, census deputy director, said: “The percentage of people identifying their ethnic group as ‘White: English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British’, continues to decrease.

“Whilst this remains the most common response to the ethnic group question, the number of people identifying with another ethnic group continues to increase.”

The census has detailed the first languages of people living in each district. 95.3 per cent of people living in Sedgemoor speak English as their first language.

The second most common first language was Polish (1.3 per cent), followed by Romanian (0.7) and Portuguese (0.5).

For more information on the 2021 census, visit www.ons.gov.uk/census/maps.

Census results about the labour market, housing, education, sexual orientation, gender identity and health/disability will be released over the next two months.