Day 138: Praying for the spiritual life of the people of Wales and the rest of the UK (2011)

Join with Salvationists of the Wales Division for day 138 of 150 days of prayer.

• 'The Lord stands with me to do what he has promised. Yes, Lord, your faithful love will always continue. You have made us who we are, so do not leave us now!' (Psalm 138:8, EasyEnglish Bible). 

2011

In the United Kingdom, a census usually takes place every ten years. Following the 2021 census, The Guardian newspaper compared the results on questions of religion with those of 2011:

‘The number of people identifying as Christian dropped by 5.5 million in the past decade. While all the other major religions witnessed increased numbers, the deficit in those identifying as Christians was comfortably surpassed by the increase of 8.5 million who stated no religion, rising to 22.2 million. That’s more than a third of the population of England and Wales, up from a quarter just a decade ago. Almost all local authorities have registered an increase in the proportion of those stating no religion, with more than half of the population of 10 councils saying they are not religious.

‘Although small – 0.6% of the population in England and Wales – the number of people in the ‘other religion’ category (a religion other than Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim or Sikh) grew by more than 100,000 in the decade between the last two census cycles. The most common of these is paganism with close to 74,000 adherents in England and Wales, including three of every 1,000 residents in Ceredigion, Cornwall, Somerset, Isle of Wight, Powys and Gwynedd.’

Commenting on these statistics, the Bishop of St Asaph, the Rt Rev Gregory Cameron said: ‘We have become a society where we can be more honest about faith, and societal expectations are, if anything, secular rather than religious, so to profess a faith is to stand out, rather than to blend in. These figures offer no surprises but remind us of the huge challenge for the church to be able to demonstrate to society why we still believe faith is life transforming.’

We are now in a world that, in some respects, reflects the world of the early Christian Church.

Prayer

• Christians are now a minority in Wales. This is all the more reason to understand what being ‘salt and light’ in this generation means. Pray that the Holy Spirit will inspire you to tell someone about what being a Christian means to you. Do not hide your light, but let it shine.