Faith, religion and belief

The Equality Act applies to any religion, religious belief or similar philosophical belief, including non-belief. However, to be fully protected by the act the religion or belief must be “organised”, i.e. have a clear structure and belief system. Denominations such as Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox Christians, Sunni and Shia Muslims and belief systems such as Humanism, Atheism, Paganism and Spiritualism are covered under the Act. Political beliefs are specifically excluded.

The Census of England and Wales (2021), shows that less than half of the population (46.2 per cent, 27.5 million people) described their religion as Christian, a 13.1 percentage point decrease from 59.3 per cent in 2011. Despite this decrease, Christian remained the most common response to the religion question. “No religion” was the second most common response, increasing by 12.0 percentage points to 37.2 per cent (22.2 million) from 25.2 per cent (14.1 million) in 2011. 

In Plymouth, the most common response to the 2021 Census religion question was “No Religion” with 48.9 per cent (129,338 people), a rise of 16 per cent from 2011. 42.5 per cent of the population (112,526 people) described their religion as Christian, a 15.7 per cent decrease (36,391 people) since 2011. Despite this “Christian” remained the biggest faith group in the City. There are 3,474 people (1.3 per cent) who describe themselves as “Muslim”, the second largest faith group, followed by Buddhists where there are 1,018 (0.4 per cent) people in this faith group.   

15,695 (5.9 per cent) did not answer the question in the Census 2021. Those who answered “Other religions”, which includes a very wide range of beliefs, represents 1,527 (0.6 per cent) of the population.  

Ward overview

The Ward analysis of this data shows a varied picture across the city. Some key points include:

• There are 5 wards where Christianity has the largest overall response  
• The Wards of Plympton St Mary and Plymstock Dunstone have more than half of their residents who are Christian.
• There are 15 wards where No Religion is the largest overall response, 8 wards have more than 50% of their population stating this.
• Drake ward has 57.8% of its population stating No Religion.
• Of the 3,474 people (1.3 per cent) who describe themselves as “Muslim”, the second largest faith group, more than half (51.5%) live in 4 wards: St Peter and the Waterfront, Sutton and Mount Gould, Drake and Devonport. 
• Of the 1,018 Buddhists in the city (0.4 per cent), St Peter and the Waterfront has the largest proportion. (13.7%)