LIVINGDIFFERENCE WITH Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life Commission on Religion REPORT OF THE COMMISSION ON RELIGION THE WOOLF INSTITUTE AND BELIEF IN BRITISH PUBLIC LIFE 12–14 Grange Road Cambridge CB3 9DU Tel: +44 (0) 1223 741048 LIVING WITH DIFFERENCE www.woolf.cam.ac.uk [email protected] community, diversity and the common good Reg Charity No. 1069589 Chair: The Rt Hon Baroness Elizabeth Butler-Sloss GBE A Company Limited by Guarantee, Co No. 3540878 Registered in England & Wales, Registered Offce as above. Convened by The Woolf Institute, CambriDge REPORT OF THE COMMISSION ON RELIGION AND BELIEF IN BRITISH PUBLIC LIFE LIVING WITH DIFFERENCE community, diversity and the common good Chair: The Rt Hon Baroness Elizabeth Butler-Sloss GBE Published by The Woolf Institute, Cambridge 7 December 2015 PATRONS AND COMMISSIONERS Patrons Professor Lord Parekh of Kingston upon Hull Sir Iqbal Sacranie OBE The Rt Revd and Rt Hon Lord Williams of Oystermouth The Rt Hon Lord Woolf CH Commissioners Chair: The Rt Hon Baroness Elizabeth Butler-Sloss of Marsh Green GBE Vice-chair and convenor: Dr Edward Kessler MBE Bishop Dr Joe Aldred The Very Revd Dr Ian Bradley Dr Shana Cohen Andrew Copson Shaunaka Rishi Das Professor Gwen Griffth-Dickson Professor Mark Hammond The Rt Revd Professor Lord Harries of Pentregarth Dr Jagbir Jhutti-Johal Professor Francesca Klug OBE Professor Maleiha Malik Professor Tariq Modood MBE Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra Professor Lord Parekh of Kingston upon Hull Brian Pearce OBE The Revd Canon Dr Angus Ritchie Rabbi Dr Norman Solomon The Revd Dr Robert Tosh CONTENTS Preface 6 Executive summary 7 CONTEXT 1. Journey 10 – the creation of this report 2. Landscape 13 – meanings and changes CONVERSATIONS 3. Vision 21 – standing at a crossroads 4. Education 31 – how we learn and think 5. Media 41 – reporting and representation 6. Dialogue 50 – the quality of relationship 7. Action 61 – ordinary people of good will 8. Law 70 – to help us live with our differences WHAT NEXT? 9. Ways forwarD 81 – checklist of next steps APPENDICES A. Additional statistics 87 B. The consultation process 99 C. Works cited 105 D. Membership of the commission 118 LIST OF FIGURES 1. Changes in religious affliation and identity 17 – British Social Attitudes Survey, 1983 and 2014 2. Values, beliefs and self-descriptions 17 – YouGov / Westminster Faith Debates, 2013 3. Priorities and preferences amongst certain values 18 – Eurobarometer, 2014 4. Beliefs about God 18 – British Cohort Study, 2012 5. Religious affliation in England and Wales 87 – Offce for National Statistics, 2011 6. Changes in religious affliation in England and Wales 87 – Offce for National Statistics, 2001 and 2011 7. Religious affliation in Northern Ireland 88 – Northern Ireland Census, 2011 8. Changes in religious affliation in Northern Ireland 88 – Northern Ireland Census, 2001 and 2011 9. Religious affliation in Scotland 89 – Scotland Census, 2011 10. Changes in religious affliation in Scotland 89 – Scotland Census, 2001 and 2011 11. Religious attendance in Britain, 1990 – 2010 90 – British Social Attitudes Survey 12. Humanist beliefs 90 – Ipsos MORI / British Humanist Association, 2006 13. Religious affliation in Britain each year since 1983 91 – British Social Attitudes Survey, 1983 – 2014 14. Affliation with non-Christian religions in England and Wales 91 – Offce for National Statistics, 2011 LIST OF FIGURES 5 15. Affliation with non-Christian religions in Northern Ireland 92 – Northern Ireland Census, 2011 16. Affliation with non-Christian religions in Scotland 92 – Scotland Census, 2011 17. Percentage of white respondents reporting a religious affliation 93 – British Social Attitudes Survey, 1983 – 2008 18. Affliation with Christianity and no religion by age 93 – YouGov / Westminster Faith Debates, 2013 19. Religious affliation among different generations of ethnic minorities 94 – Ethnic Minority British Election Study, 2010 20. The difference between religious affliation and religiosity 94 – YouGov / British Humanist Association, 2011 21. The difference between religious affliation and religiosity 95 – YouGov / British Humanist Association, 2011 22. Ideas about right and wrong 95 – Ipsos MORI / British Humanist Association, 2006 23. ‘Which, if any of the below, do you believe can be infuenced by spiritual forces?’ 96 – ComRes / Theos, 2013 24. Spiritual and Religious 96 – YouGov / Westminster Faith Debates, 2013 25. Independently reading the Bible 97 – Ipsos MORI / Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (UK), 2011 26. Attendance of Christian services or meetings excluding special occasions 97 – Ipsos MORI / Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (UK), 2011 27. English church attendance on a Sunday 98 – English Church Census, 1979 – 2005 6 LIVING WITH DIFFERENCE PREFACE Religion and belief are driving forces today. Society is not about to return to the past when religion and religious authorities dominated. It is clear, though, that they raise issues that have urgently to be addressed. The religious landscape in this country has been transformed in the last few decades and now includes a large proportion of people who identify themselves as not religious, and censuses and surveys suggest this proportion is increasing rapidly. At the same time there is a growth in religions other than Christianity, and in branches of Christianity such as the Evangelical and Pentecostal churches. The picture is made more complicated by the growth of fanaticism, by a suspicion amongst many that religion is a signifcant source of the world’s ills, and by a blanket denial by others of the legitimacy of non-religious approaches to life. Forms of hatred such as Islamophobia and antisemitism are also pressing societal issues, not only in the UK but also in many other countries throughout Europe and the wider world. For these reasons, in September 2013 the Woolf Institute convened an independent commission to undertake over a two-year period the frst systematic review of the role of religion and belief in the UK today and to make policy recommendations. Twenty commissioners from across Great Britain and Northern Ireland accepted our invitation to take part and they have been well supported by a hard-working secretariat. Additionally, we have received tremendous support and guidance from our patrons and are deeply grateful for their contributions. We thank all who have given so much time to this endeavour. The Woolf Institute has been generous in its support but we would also like to acknowledge the fnancial support of the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, Open Society, Davis Foundation and Dominion Trust. During the two-year period we have been encouraged by the extent of interest the commission generated at local hearings across the country and would like to express our gratitude to those who attended, and to those who sent or emailed more than 200, often lengthy, submissions during the public consultation process. Our gratitude also extends to the organisations across the UK which hosted meetings and public hearings for us. There has been general agreement that in today’s society it is essential not only to understand religion and belief but also to refect on how they interact with each other at local and national levels. Indeed, it is only with such an understanding that communities can be sustained, and that people can live with difference and contribute to the common good. We believe this is an important report and ask that its fndings be widely considered across the political spectrum by policy makers, government offcials, religious leaders and the wider public. We have taken into account an extensive range of different views, and now we commend this report to you. Baroness Elizabeth Butler-Sloss GBE, PC Dr Ed Kessler MBE Chair Vice-chair Commission on Religion and Belief Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life in British Public Life JOURNEY 7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public life was convened in 2013 by the Woolf Institute, which promotes the multidisciplinary study of relationships between Christians, Jews and Muslims. The commission’s purpose is to consider the place and role of religion and belief in contemporary Britain, to consider the signifcance of emerging trends and identities, and to make recommendations for public life and policy. Its premise is that in a rapidly changing diverse society everyone is affected, whatever their private views on religion and belief, by how public policy and public institutions respond to social change. Under the leadership of Baroness Butler-Sloss the 20 commissioners – incorporating adherents of the main religious and belief traditions within the UK, including humanism – have met frequently. They have taken evidence from a wide range of people, and have journeyed around the UK and through its social and economic, religious and cultural, legal and political, academic and educational landscapes. Their report sets out their main conclusions and recommendations. The changing landscape Over the past half century, Britain’s landscape in terms of religion and belief has been transformed beyond recognition. There are three striking trends: • The frst is the increase in the number of people with non-religious beliefs and identities. Almost a half of the population today describes itself as non-religious, as compared with an eighth in England and a third in Scotland in 2001. • The second is the general decline in Christian affliation, belief and practice. Thirty years ago, two-thirds of the population would have identifed as Christians. Today, that fgure is four in ten, and at the same time there has been a shift away from mainstream denominations and a growth in evangelical and Pentecostal churches. • The third is the increased diversity amongst people who have a religious faith. Fifty years ago Judaism – at one in 150 – was the largest non-Christian tradition in the UK. Now it is the fourth largest behind Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism. Although still comprising less than one in ten of the population, faith traditions other than Christian have younger age profles and are therefore growing faster.