From: (Anonymous)	Date: February 5th, 2004 11:47 am (UTC)		(Link)
Religion Essay

Thank you for an extremely interesting essay on the state of religion in the UK.

Your headline says that Christianity is the established religion in UK, but this is not so. The Church of England is the Established Church, and all other Christian denominations are tolerated.

I was somewhat surprised to find that your survey didn't include the Mormon Church, a solidly Christian dneomination for all the distaste many Christians in the historic churches have for it. However, as the C of E declines in the numbers of bottoms on pews, the LDS Church increases Sunday attendances in inverse proprtion. In five years, it has been estimated, there will be more Mormons going to Church in the Uk than there will be Anglicans going to church.

For this reason alone, a survey that does not take them into account is somewhat incomplete.

Your essay would have been better had you looked for and discovered more reasons why Christianity and, for example, Judaism, are failing in the UK. A little more analysis of the statistics might have thrown some light on these trends, and then, it would have been helpful had you discussed reasons for the success of Mormons in the face of declines in other congregations.

All in all, the piece is to your credit, but answers to some profound questions about spiritual life in contemporary UK society would have made it sparkle.

With every good wish,

RB

From: (Anonymous)	Date: February 6th, 2004 05:15 pm (UTC)		(Link)
Mormons

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (a.k.a. Mormons). I'd like to thank RB for his/her comments. He/she made some very good and interesting points. But, I can see from the essay (which is very thorough and articulate) that the statistical data is categorized just as it is in the 2001 national census (lumping all Christian sects together). Since we "Mormons" are Christian, it is appropriate.

From: (Anonymous)	Date: January 26th, 2005 03:17 pm (UTC)		(Link)
Thank you

Thank you your essay was informative and helpful with some useful data

From: (Anonymous)	Date: February 17th, 2005 12:53 pm (UTC)		(Link)
the demolition of churches and cathedrals

Dear Sir,

Although your essay was informative, I felt I must speak out
about your comments about the demolition of religious
buildings as "anachronistic structures". Of course the
religious climate in Britain is undergoing great change,
but churches and cathedrals are beautiful and historically
important buildings -as important as any of the very
carefully restored houses and palaces of the National Trust
(most of which were built with dirty money). Look at the religious
arrogance and cultural philistinism which led the Taliban
to demolish the ancient Buddha figures in Afghanistan,
and the US Army to drive over the ruins of the city of Babylon
with tanks and use bricks from the archaelogical site in sandbags
in Iraq.If churches and cathedrals are no longer in use
as Christian places of worship, then out of respect to the past and
reverence for what remains some of the only attractive architecture
in the UK, these buildings should, as you also say, rightly
be converted into spaces which will be fully in use. A church
in Cheshire is now a packed Mosque, one in Oxford a bar, restaurant,
gallery space and venue, another in Sussex an Arts centre.
This, and not demolition shows foresight and cultural regeneration.

Lucy Williams

	From: vexen	Date: February 17th, 2005 01:24 pm (UTC)		(Link)
	Re: the demolition of churches and cathedrals

Although there are indeed many religious places of historical worth, most of them are not so and Church building continued at a rate of thousands per year way past the heydey of attendance. These thousands were mostly standard, formulaic, almost completely stoic, with little significance.

I personally I always inclined towards re-use, rather than destruction, as you kindly point out.

... and yeah I agree that the National Trust much of the time has put money and time into some really quite shallow ideas! But that's a completely different topic.

Hey Lucy; are you L.W. of G.C.C.? If not then smile in the knowledge that you share a name with a nice friend of mine :-) If so, then... hiya... based on the "Dear Sir" address at the beginning of your response, I'm inclined to think that you've missed out (until now) on what a coincidence this is!

From: (Anonymous)	Date: May 24th, 2005 06:43 am (UTC)		(Link)
Re: the demolition of churches and cathedrals

Very helpful paper - told me just what I needed to know. Have you thought about the difference between the USA and the UK? Why is the rest of the West secularising and the USA leading the world for ghastly charismatic Xtian warmongers? I think Australia is following the USA pattern and NZ (home of the Jedi Knight concept i believe) is even higher on the secular scale.
Cheers and thanks

From: (Anonymous)	Date: May 24th, 2005 06:44 am (UTC)		(Link)
Re: the demolition of churches and cathedrals

Sorry the above wasn't supposed to be in the demolition of churches strand.

From: (Anonymous)	Date: December 1st, 2005 05:56 pm (UTC)		(Link)
thanks

thanks because this website has been very useful to me it helped me with my homework and i personally found it extremely interesting.

	From: jussycornflake	Date: February 6th, 2006 02:09 pm (UTC)		(Link)
	Christadelphians

I stumbled across your website totally by accident when compiling a quiz for my LJ yesterday. I was amazed to find that my church "Christadelphians" were placed in your table of results in Section 8 (Diversity) as being non Christian (as the Christian majority has been removed).
Christadelphians are very much a Christian Fundamentalist religion. I just thought I would make you aware of this! Here are some links for your reference:

http://www.christadelphia.org/
http://www.christadelphianals.org/

	From: vexen	Date: February 6th, 2006 05:21 pm (UTC)		(Link)
	Re: Christadelphians

Thanks for that, but, Christadelphia is different enough from mainstream Christianity to have it's own entry, in just the same as the Amish, who are also strict Biblical literalists.

Why are you a Christadelphian? Not many fundamentalist adherents are the children of similar parents, so I'm guessing you got into it somehow... how?

	From: jussycornflake	Date: February 6th, 2006 08:51 pm (UTC)		(Link)
	Re: Christadelphians

I do find it very strange. My mum originally was a Methodist and having studied them and also Baptists in the past, I don't think they are that different....but then I am no expert on the other two faiths.

My parents were Christadelphians and I was brought up as one. But becoming a Christadelphian is an adult decision and as you suggest many children don't get baptised as adults, but many also do. Many Christadelphian families are also interwoven as its recommended we marry within the church.

From: (Anonymous)	Date: May 3rd, 2006 11:33 am (UTC)		(Link)
Church attendance figures

Hi
Very interesting church attandance figures. I see virtually all religions are experiencing a decrease in number almost yearly. It would be interesting to compare with the attendance figures of Jehovah's Witnesses. Alligned with that, compare Isaiah 60:22.

From: (Anonymous)	Date: June 25th, 2006 09:06 pm (UTC)		(Link)
Re: Church attendance figures

Revival is not far away from sweeping the UK. Soon there will be such a powerful manifestation of the power of Jesus Christ in this country that people will turn back to Him in their thousands because of visible proof of His powerful existence.

	From: vexen	Date: July 13th, 2006 09:41 pm (UTC)		(Link)
	Re: Church attendance figures

Still waiting.

From: (Anonymous)	Date: July 19th, 2007 12:58 pm (UTC)		(Link)
Re: Church attendance figures

Dream on.

From: (Anonymous)	Date: October 20th, 2006 10:56 am (UTC)		(Link)

The data you have presented is well researched and compiled. I've made reference to it myself more than a few times.

From: (Anonymous)	Date: October 25th, 2006 09:57 am (UTC)		(Link)
Church of England

Look no offence meant to my christian 'relatives' but a sub faith like the church of england can hardly be preeched as full of morales as it was based on Henry the 8 who made the church because he wanted to fuck another women legally and get married as often as he wanted!!! What the hell is that to base a 'religon' on?!

But I did still find the stats interesting and some of your comments useful (you know if you were interested in becoming christian then perhaps being Catholic is something you should consider...just a thought).

Best Wishes

From: (Anonymous)	Date: October 14th, 2007 12:56 pm (UTC)		(Link)
UK Criminal Record

Any chance of some data on the level of Brits resident in UK with a criminal record? Obvious we need to define "criminal record". I'm thinking of anything that restricts employment potential; then we need to look at age group. You have to assume the rate would be higher among men than women. And then look at the percentage employed by the State; national and local government, and assume they have "nothing recorded against".
My point is that targets have motivated the police to make as many arrests as possible, and make the charge as serioAny chance of some data on the level of Brits resident in UK with a criminal record? Obvious we need to define "criminal record". I'm thinking of anything that restricts employment potential; then we need to look at age group. You have to assume the rate would be higher among men than women. And then look at the percentage employed by the State; national and local government, and assume they have "nothing recorded against".
My point is that targets have motivated the police to make as many arrests as possible, and make the charge as serious as possible. Assume this conjecture is reasonable accurate, does it go some way to explain why immigrants seem to easily find work in UK, as indigenous British men as pushed to the employment margins. Generally immigrants have not been in UK long enough to acquire a record. Not sure if this was the government's cunning plan or simply an unforeseen consequence. Can anyone pick up the ball and run with it?
Bottom line is emigrate sooner rather than later.
us as possible. Assume this conjecture is reasonable accurate, does it go some way to explain why immigrants seem to easily find work in UK, as indigenous British men as pushed to the employment margins. Generally immigrants have not been in UK long enough to acquire a record. Not sure if this was the government's cunning plan or simply an unforeseen consequence. Can anyone pick up the ball and run with it?
Bottom line is emigrate sooner rather than later.

From: (Anonymous)	Date: November 7th, 2007 03:37 pm (UTC)		(Link)
Vexen Crabtree Website

As an A level Sociology teacher I found your up-to-date material on religion just what I wanted and one of the best ever sites I have ever stumbled on,

Thanks,

Steve Champion

From: (Anonymous)	Date: November 16th, 2008 01:25 pm (UTC)		(Link)
Awesome article.

Just the right article for my research project. You were a great help! I can't thank you enough.