Most Brits identify as Christians, stats show

Almost 70 per cent of Britons identify themselves as Christian, according to the latest official figures.

The same report also confirmed figures from last year which revealed only 1.5 per cent of people say they are homosexual or bisexual.

Responding to the figures, Simon Calvert of The Christian Institute called on the Government to reassess its drive to redefine marriage so that homosexuals can wed.

Shock

The results come from the Office for National Statistics’ annual Integrated Household Survey, which collects the views of 420,000 people in the UK.

It showed that fewer than a quarter of those asked about their religion said they had none and only one in twelve identified with religions other than Christianity.

Simon Calvert, of The Christian Institute, said: “These figures must come as a shock to the BBC and the political class. It is about time that this reality, that people want to be identified as Christian, was reflected not only in the output of our major broadcasters but also in the policies of the Government.

Reality

“Ministers are still barrelling along with enforcing civil partnerships in churches and redefining marriage. We can only hope that the reality will catch up with them and give them pause for thought.”

The number of Britons identifying as homosexual is far lower than previous estimates used by the Government to calculate how much public money should be used to advance pro-homosexual policies.

Researchers have previously claimed that between six and ten per cent of the population have had homosexual experiences.

Politically correct

The figures on Christianity in Britain may add to criticism of the BBC after it emerged this week that some programmes had dropped the terms BC and AD and replaced them with the “religiously-neutral” BCE and CE.

The BBC’s religion and ethics department stated: “As the BBC is committed to impartiality it is appropriate that we use terms that do not offend or alienate non-Christians.”