The last few censuses have long revealed trends of dropping numbers of Christians, but why is it that young people are losing faith in religion while Islam holds a tight grip on Muslim communities and continues to grow? Alisha Jackson explores how the current younger generation identifies with faith and the possibilities for the religious landscape of England and Wales.
In the 2011 national census, the regular patterns of change in the religious makeup of England and Wales showed increases and decreases of a significant rate. It cannot be ignored, as proven by the census, the growing popularity of Islam and the fast decline of Christianity. Despite a still overwhelmingly Christian population, enthused followers of Islam excited over the idea of their religion becoming the dominant faith, as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggested could be the outcome by 2021.
A popularity boom for Islam is not the main cause for the landsliding numbers of Christians. As 80 per cent of the Christian demographic ages, a quarter of the general population identify themselves as to be of 'no religion'.
Dr Abby Day, who specialises in the social scientific study of religion, described how the younger generation is not replacing the older generation through "generational transmission".
Referring to her research into the lives of the last active generation of the Church of England, she said: "This generation of older people have not been replaced and they found it very important to their lives to belong to the Church of England. The church represented for them not just the church and religion but also the nation and family and was very important, but it's not so important in the same way for their children and grandchildren.
Discussing the causes for the disconnection to Christianity for many of the younger generation, she spoke of the modern morals of today's young people. She said: "I think currently young people are very much opposed to discrimination and they value equality and they value authenticity and they value the rights of people to live their own happy lives. It is a value change."
With this understanding, it is easy to see how the past actions of the Church of England, such as their campaigns against same-sex marriage or the overly disproportionate numbers of women to men in senior church roles, may lessen the appeal of institutionalized forms of religion.
Abu Tayeb, Founder of Newcastle-based charity the Islamic Diversity Centre believes that with Islam, there is a nurturing element to it that provides solutions to the modern-day problems of young people. Those solutions are not just the "cleansing process" of praying, that Mr Tayeb said “takes us out of the matrix, out of the hustle and bustle of everyday life and it gives us that time to ourselves to distress.” They even take a more practical form too, such as non-interest loans.
With the cynical connotations that surround religion, charged by negative media coverage of Islam, how it is helping young people deal with complications in their lives is seldom considered. Mr Tayeb proudly highlighted that there are more people going to Islam and staying at a faster rate than any other religion.
He said: "Modern challenges that we face today are unprecedented. Stress levels are at the highest, anxiety, mental health problems are on the increase. You've got so many pressures in society now that people are genuinely struggling to get by."
He added: “We’re finding a huge spike in young people coming to Islam nation-wide, accepting Islam as their way of life for their identity and as a solution for the many problems they are facing.”
"Growing up myself was going to the mosque two or three times a week, sometimes five, six, seven times a week – that was key to me," says 27-year-old Mohammed Sheikh, a charity volunteer from London.
As the case for many Muslims, Mohammed believes that it is the importance of the community in Islam that adds a lot to his life and keeps him connected.
“I think it was a big community as well, as like now, I'm involved in a big community and it is that sense of 'I’ve got that belonging’, and I think that probably keeps myself in religion as well,” he said.
“As youngsters, as a young British Muslim, and for young people in general, I think we need more guidance as well, because we don’t know everything at the age of 26 or 27. I think guidance is key,” he added.
While Christianity appears to be less popular with today's younger people, it is not completely irrelevant.
Though it’s less common to go to church on Sundays, tightly-knit groups of young Christians still attend weekend services, in the manner of a university society.
Catriona Townley, a 29-year-old proud Christian invites anyone down to hangout at her church – X1 Watford, to see how young Christians their engage with the church.
She Interprets her faith not in the manner of a routine formula in order to be the perfect Christian.
"People think that Jesus will only accept them if they are perfect, and goodness our world is flawed, so how on earth can we be perfect. People think they would need to change so much so come to Jesus when the reality is that you can come just as you are. Rags and tears and anger and hurt," she said.
Catriona found solace in Christianity when she was 19-years-old and struggling in her life. She said: “I didn't know that my life had any worth and I was numbing a whole load of pain with excessive amounts of alcohol, so much so that it led to health complications later. It doesn’t mean that becoming a Christian means everything is perfect and there is no more suffering, but there is deep peace that cannot be shaken.
“I think a lot of people feel as though there is something missing and try and fill that void – whether that’s excessive food, drugs, exercise, alcohol, sex, needing affirmation from others or shopping, but it never quite satisfies.
“I believe my faith in God made me complete and taught me my worth, and I’ve never looked back.”
