Changing Society Briefing 6: Changing patterns of worship and religious belief and their impact on charities

Introduction

This is the sixth in the Heyheyjoe briefing series, looking at external social, economic, and demographic changes and their impact on charities and non-profit organisations. This one focuses on changing patterns of religious observance and their impact on charities.

The number of Christians is falling in the UK.

The most accurate way to measure the habits and demographics of the UK population is through census data. Chart 1 below shows changes in religious composition between the 2011 and 2021 censuses. In 2011, there were 33.3 million

Chart 1: religious composition of the UK public from the 2011 and 2021 censuses

Source:www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/religion/bulletins/religionenglandandwales/census2021

people who defined themselves as Christians by 2021 this was 27.5 million, a drop of 5.8 million people. Conversely, the number of people in 2011 who said they had no religion was 14.1 million, and by 2021 this was 22.2 million – a rise of 8.1 million. Given this is larger than the drop in Christians, this must be a combination of a reduction in the numbers of other religions, and perhaps an increase in the population overall.

While numbers of Muslims are rising, other religions are all but static

The only religion whose numbers have risen by any substantive amount, as chart 1 shows, is Muslims, who have increased from 2.7 million in 2011 to 3.9 million in 2021 – a rise of 1.2 million. Other religions, such as Hindus, Buddhists, and Sikhs, have increased between 2011 and 2021, but only by a few hundred thousand or so.

Young people are going to church in growing numbers

While the census data shows a decrease in the number of Christians, more recent data from polling shows an increase between 2018 and 2024 (https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2025/11-april/news/uk/dramatic-growth-in-young-people-attending-church-bible-society-research-finds ). We will need to see whether this is a long-term trend, but the data also suggests it is young people driving the change. In 2018, just 4% of 18 to 24-year-olds said they had attended church in the last year, and by 2024 this was up to 16%, with an increase particularly in young men attending church. Who knows if this change will be reflected in the 2031 census.

The UK is low on the religious observance league table globally

Overall, the UK is low on the religious observance league table. As chart 2 shows the

Chart 2: Share of individuals who say they follow a religion worldwide

Source: https://www.statista.com/chart/27033/share-religious-people-by-country

UK has under 40% of its population who say they follow a religion. This is comparable to many other European countries and also Australia/NZ. In contrast, much of Latin America, India and Africa have rates above 60% or even 80%.

Religious observance and charity support are closely linked

There is a strong relationship between religious support and giving to charity in either time or money. At its strongest, it can involve contributions of a considerable amount of money. Christians talk about giving a tithe, or a tenth of their income to the church or the clergy. Muslims have the concept  of zakat or ‘giving to the needy’, which is one of the five pillars of Islam (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zakat  ).

Chart 3 shows some YouGov data of the general public, with those who are religious being twice as inclined to say they are ‘very likely’ to give to charity in the next 3 months, and irreligious people are nearly twice as inclined to say they are ‘not at all likely’ to give in the next 3 months.

Chart 3: Religious people are more likely to donate to charity

Source: https://yougov.co.uk/society/articles/35692-religious-people-give-more-often-different-causes

Question: how likely are you to donate to a charity in the next 3 months? (% of GB adults)

The implications for charities

Christian causes are likely to suffer

If there are fewer people with a Christian religious conviction in the population, then the number of people who give to religious causes is only likely to decrease. This means that being an (overtly) Christian charity is probably an increasingly hard positioning. Just about the only religious charity that has attracted a secular base of support is the Salvation Army, but they are very much the exception, not the rule. Overseas charities in particular have historically had a strong level of Christian support, so expect them to struggle even more over time if the trends in chart 1 continue.

The number of donors and volunteers with a religious conviction is likely to decline

Of course, many donors and supporters with a religious conviction will support non-religious charities both as volunteers and donors. If the number of Christians is decreasing and those with ‘no religion’ increasing, then that cohort of support motivated by their religious beliefs will be a smaller and smaller pool on which charities can rely.

Finding ways to build non-Christian donors and volunteers will be key

If charities are to thrive, then they will need to find alternatives to the Christian audience, as it is stretched increasingly thin. Some charities are looking more and more at the Muslim audience and its principle of Zakat. But that will only fill a small portion of the gap, given the numbers above. This means identifying motivations that are not about faith, but about belief in the cause or satisfaction in volunteering or giving. This is probably easier for causes such as medical research, given people’s personal experience of cancer or heart disease, than it is for overseas development.

The underlying trend is sobering for charities

The trend of a declining base of Christianity is sobering for charities in its own right, but it also falls on top of other trends. This includes the shift from older to younger volunteering, the general difficulty in raising money from individuals as the retirement age increases, and pensions become less generous, and the general negative media coverage of charities in much of the press, if they get covered at all.

Charities will need to use all their strategic and innovative brilliance to overcome the decline in what has been a key and natural audience for many charities. More of the same will no longer suffice.

Joe Saxton

August 2025

This briefing is part of a series looking at the impact of social, economic, technological, and demographic changes on charities and non-profit organisations. We have already published a briefing on:

·      the ageing population (briefing no 1)

·      changing numbers of single people and fertility rates (no 2)

·      the impact of growing government debt (no 3).

·      the rise in Government debt. (no 4)

·      wealth, inequality and poverty in the UK (no 5)

In future issues we will look at the impact of digital, the growing cult of the individual, and changing patterns of support for different causes. Go to www.heyheyjoe.info for more information.