The 2021 Census has now issued its findings on Faith & Belief.
This new data shows the extent of social change in our neighbourhoods over the previous ten years.
Across Torbay the population has increased by 6.4%, from around 131,000 in 2011 to 139,300 in 2021. This is lower than the overall increase for England (6.6%), where the population grew by nearly 3.5 million to 56,489,800.
Our population will inevitably continue to grow. By 2030 a figure of 145,120 has been put forward. This may well be higher as migration into the Bay has been very difficult to predict.
One headline-grabbing finding is of particular note; the response to the question on religion and belief. While not everyone chose to respond, the Census nevertheless shows a significant shift over the past decade.
In 2011 there were 82,924 self-declared Christians in the Bay – 62% of the population. By last year this had fallen to 67,634 (49%). Though still the largest faith tradition by far, for the first time in well over a thousand years Christians now make up less than half of the Bay’s population.
In this, we largely reflect the situation across England and Wales where the numbers of Christians fell by 13% – from 59% in 2011 to 46% in 2021. That we have a slightly higher local Christian population is probably due to our older demographic.
Predictably, other faiths have increased. Muslims now number 788, an increase from 521; while Buddhists have increased from 389 to 553; and Hindus from 128 to 223.
Taking all non-Christian faiths together we have a total of 2,741 (7%), up from 2,325 (6%) in 2011.
The most striking change, however, has been in the numbers of local folk who say they have ‘No Religion’. These are the ‘Nones’ who have increased from 35,535 (27%) in 2011, to 60,178 (43%) in 2021.
This is who we are across the Bay:
Christian 67,634
No religion 60,178
Not answered 8,771
Muslim 788
Buddhist 553
Pagan 270
Spiritualist 231
Hindu 223
Jewish 141
Spiritual 100
Sikh 60
Wicca 55
Mixed Religion 18
Satanism 15
Taoist 13
Own Belief System 13
Bah’ai 12
Druid 11
Pantheism 9
Heathen 8
Witchcraft 7
Occult 5
Rastafarian 5
Eckankar 4
Universalist 4
Native American Church 3
Deist 3
Zoroastrian 3
Shamanism 2
Brahma Kumari 1
Believe in God 1
Animism 1
New Age 1
Mysticism 1
Shintoism 1
Reconstructionist 1
Ravidassia 1
