The majority of LGBTQ+ people in England and Wales do not describe themselves as religious, according to new figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS).
The data, which was published on 4 April, is drawn from the 2021 census which asked questions about sexual orientation and gender identity for the first time.
A total of 1.5 million respondents (3.2% of the population aged 16 years or older) said they identified as LGB+, with urban areas seeing the highest proportions of LGBTQ+ people.
Around 748,000 (1.5%) of those who answered said they are either gay or lesbian, only 0.2% more than the 624,000 (1.3%) who described themselves as bisexual.
An additional 165,000 (0.3%) selected “other sexual orientation”.
“Many LGBT+ people leave their faith communities because of the way they are treated by them”
Approximately 10 categories were used to identify religious beliefs within the census: None, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, other, not answered and does not apply.
More than six in 10 (63%) of lesbian, gay and bisexual people and almost four in 10 (36%) of trans people said they had “no religion”.
This was compared to 37% of the overall population who said they are not religious.
Of the LGBTQ+ people who said they followed a certain religion, Christian was the most common answer at 26% for lesbian, gay and bisexual people and 36% for trans people.
READ MORE: Being bisexual almost as common as being gay or lesbian in England and Wales, census shows
Just 2% of lesbian, gay and bisexual people and 15% of trans people identified as Muslim, while 6% of lesbian, gay and bisexual people and 10% of trans people chose the “other religion” option.
Jayne Ozanne, a gay Christian activist who chairs the Ban Conversion Therapy Coalition, told GAY TIMES the findings are “sadly of no surprise given the way most religions judge, condemn and ostracise LGBT+ people”.
“Whilst it should be remembered that questions regarding sexuality and gender identity were voluntary, with those who are conflicted or nervous about openly self-identifying are by definition most likely to be religious and therefore not included in these statics, it is a known fact that many LGBT+ people leave their faith communities because of the way they are treated by them,” she continued.
Gen Z twice as likely to identify as LGBTQ+ in England and Wales
Census data released earlier in the year found that those aged between 16 and 24 are more than twice as likely to identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community compared with the general population.
Gen Z were the most likely to identify as LGBTQ+ in England and Wales at a rate of 6.91% to 3.16%, respectively.
Of the over 70s who came of age while homosexuality was still a criminal offence, only 0.37% identified as LGB+.
Latest
