The changing face of religion in Portsmouth, Havant, Gosport and Fareham comparing census figures from 2011 and 2021

Fewer people identify as Christian and more people are non-religious in Portsmouth than a decade ago, census figures show.

Humanists UK ran campaigns in the lead up to the censuses in 2011 and 2021 encouraging non-religious people to select ‘no religion’.

The organisation said the recent figures should be a ‘wake-up call’ for reconsidering the role religion has in society.

Office for National Statistics data from the 2021 census shows 39% of people in Portsmouth selected Christianity as their religion, down significantly from 52% in the last survey a decade before.

About 47% selected ‘no religion’, a leap from 35% in 2011. Of these, 153 people said they were agnostic, while 47 selected Atheism.

The area follows trends across England and Wales where 46% of the population described themselves as Christian in the recent census, down from 59% a decade earlier. It is the first time the proportion has dropped below half.

And the percentage of people saying they had no religion jumped from around a quarter (25%) in 2011 to over a third (37%) last year.

Nationally, there were increases in the proportion of people describing themselves as Muslim, with 6.5% selecting the religion, up from 4.9% in the previous census. More people also identified as Hindu, increasing from 1.5% in 2011 to 1.7% in 2021.

More people in Portsmouth identify as Muslim, with 10,174 selecting the religion last year, up from 7,162 in 2011.

Additionally, 1,596 residents said they were Hindu in the survey, up from 1,282 10 years ago, while there were 1,077 Buddhists and 200 residents who selected Judaism.

Of the other options, 359 said they were pagans and 22 said they practice Heathenism.

In Gosport 45% selected Christianity, down from 59% a decade before. About 48% selected ‘no religion’, a leap from 33% in 2011.

In Fareham 49% in Fareham selected Christianity, down from 64%. About 44% selected ‘no religion’, a leap from 27%.

And in Havant, 45% selected Christianity, down from 59%. About 47% selected ‘no religion’, a leap from 32%.

The National Secular Society said the figures show that aspects of society such as the Anglican establishment and daily prayers and worship in parliament and schools, are ‘all inappropriate, hopelessly outdated and fail to reflect the country we actually live in’ and called for reform.

Stephen Evans, the society's chief executive, said: ‘It’s official – we are no longer a Christian country.’