“Religious Nones” in the United Kingdom: How Atheists and Agnostics Think about Religion and Politics

Ben Clements,Peter Gries

doi:10.1017/s175504831600078x

Abstract

AbstractThe decline in religious identification and corresponding increase in the unaffiliated has been one of the most important religious changes in the United Kingdom (UK). The emergence of the “religious nones” is the most obvious sign of continuing secularization and the declining social and cultural relevance of religion. Yet while the religiously-unaffiliated often form the plurality — if not sometimes the majority — in many surveys, there has been little scholarly investigation into atheists, agnostics, and others who do not identify with a particular religion. This article uses a 2014 survey of UK adults to examine how those who identify as atheist or agnostic differ from the religiously-affiliated in terms of religiosity, ideology, and policy preferences. Findings reveal secular groups in the UK to be more to the ideological left than the religiously affiliated, and that atheists and agnostics differ from each other and especially the religiously affiliated on public policy.

Highlights

With rapid secularization (Martin 1978) and the declining social and cultural relevance of religion (Bruce 2013; 2014; Wilson 1996), the United Kingdom (UK) has witnessed major changes in the nature and extent of religious identification over the past few decades
MEASURES This study focuses on how two secular groups — atheists and agnostics — differ from the religiously-affiliated in terms of religiosity and socio-political attitudes
Across different aspects of religiosity and a range of socio-political attitudes, the analyses found clear differences both among different secular groups and between secular groups and those with some form of religious affiliation

Summary

Introduction

With rapid secularization (Martin 1978) and the declining social and cultural relevance of religion (Bruce 2013; 2014; Wilson 1996), the United Kingdom (UK) has witnessed major changes in the nature and extent of religious identification over the past few decades. EXISTING RESEARCH ON THE “RELIGIOUS NONES” Recent analyses have shed important light on the social basis, nature, and extent of religiosity and spirituality, and the political attitudes of secular groups in the United States (Baker and Smith 2009a; 2009b; 2015).

Results

Conclusion