I’ve been doing a little research lately for a project I’m working on and I found some of the statistics interesting (yes, I really did!)
Somerset has more Christians than the national average and is in fact one of the most Christian counties in the South West. Much has been made nationally by atheists on the falling percentages of those describing themselves as affiliated to a religion, however, the number of people who actually describe themselves as atheist is miniscule. In the whole of Somerset only 247 described themselves as atheist (1924 described themselves as Jedi Knights). If atheists are winning the debate (they aren’t by the way with many Philosophers now saying that they have actually lost it) then where are they?
So why do so many more people not describe themselves as Christian? Maybe it is not a falling away from anything but people being more honest about what they actually believe, as well as greater mistrust of any religion and growing ignorance of what Christians actually do believe. I’m beginning to think that the Census told us nothing more than we already knew.