State of the nation: religion

Easter may not be the most appropriate time to mention this. However, we are now living, for the first time in around 1,300 years, in a Cornwall where Christians find themselves in a minority. In the 2021 census Christians in Cornwall were outnumbered (just) by those claiming no religious beliefs. While the proportions are still almost identical, the trend is unmistakable. In 2011 almost 60% of residents described themselves as Christian; by 2021 it was just 45.4%.

Within Cornwall, the most Christian mid super output area was Altarnun & Stoke Climsland and the least Penryn, the latter perhaps a result of an influx of students. More generally, rural areas of east Cornwall and the better-off districts near Truro appear to be most Christian, while the towns, particularly in the west, are home to the highest number of atheists and agnostics.

Let’s compare the present situation with that of April 1851, the only time in the nineteenth century that a census of religious attendance was undertaken in Cornwall. In those days Cornwall’s plentiful Methodist chapels would have been, to our eyes, thronged with people. Not that the Victorians saw it that way. They were shocked by the results of their census. So shocked that they didn’t dare do it again in succeeding censuses.

Considerable differences were recorded across Cornwall. The map above shows the index of attendance (IA) for sub-registration districts. This sums all the attendances recorded and expresses them as a proportion of the total population. It therefore over-estimates the percentage attending church or chapel as anyone attending more than once would be double-counted. But it does illustrate the geographical variation, which was greater in those days than in ours.