Children in many UK Towns and Cities now more likely to be Muslim rather than Christian
- Statistics from 2011 Census show more Muslim children than Christian growing up in Birmingham
- Of 278,623 youngsters, 97,099 were registered as Muslim compared with 93,828 as Christian
- A similar trend has emerged in the cities of Bradford and Leicester
- Experts said more must be done to ensure that society does not become polarised along religious lines
There are more Muslim children than Christian growing up in Birmingham, figures show.
The latest statistics, extracted from the 2011 Census, give an insight into the fast pace of demographic change across Britain.
They pinpoint several parts of the country where traditional religious beliefs are being eclipsed for the first time.
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The figures show that there are more Muslim children than Christian growing up in Birmingham
In England’s second city of Birmingham, of 278,623 youngsters, 97,099 were registered as Muslim compared with 93,828 as Christian. The rest were of other faiths such as Hindu or Jewish, or none.
A similar trend has emerged in the cities of Bradford and Leicester, the towns of Luton, in Bedfordshire, and Slough in Berkshire, as well as the London boroughs Newham, Redbridge and Tower Hamlets, where nearly two-thirds of children are Islamic.
Experts have said more must be done to ensure that society does not become polarised along religious lines.
Professor Ted Cantle, of the ICoCo Foundation, which promotes community cohesion, said: ‘What we are seeing are several trends running together. There is a long-term decline in support for the established religions, notably Christianity; continuing immigration from the Asian sub-continent; and higher fertility among the Muslim population, which has a considerably lower age profile.
Ted Cantle: ‘My worry is that, as the criticism of schools in the Muslim communities of Birmingham has demonstrated, nothing has changed since my report in 2001’
‘There is also deepening segregation exacerbated by the loss of white population from cities and more intensive concentration of black and minority ethnic groups as a result of replacement.
‘This is the real problem, as residential segregation is generally compounded by school and social segregation.
‘Nothing surprises me about the pace of demographic change. What does surprise me is that the Government has no policy to combat segregation because it inevitably reduces understanding and tolerance on both sides of the divide.’
In England’s second city of Birmingham, of 278,623 youngsters, 97,099 were registered as Muslim compared with 93,828 as Christian (stock image)
Sparkhill Birmingham…typical of large areas of Birmingham
The figures show that Christianity is still the dominant religion in every local authority area in England and Wales, even in the most culturally diverse towns and cities.
Of the 45.5million participants, 27.9million subscribed to Christianity, compared with 1.8million Muslims, the second largest grouping.
However, among dependent children – defined as those aged up to 15, or between 16 and 18 and in education and still living at home – the gap is narrower.
Of 12.1million youngsters, 6.1million were Christian and 1million were Muslim. And in some places, the balance has now tipped towards Islam.
In Bradford, 52,135 children are Muslims (45 per cent) next to 47,144 Christians; in Leicester the figures are 22,693 and 18,190 respectively.
The widest gap is in Tower Hamlets where 62 per cent of children are Islamic, outnumbering Christians by 34,597 to 8,995.
Sughra Ahmed, president of the Islamic Society of Britain, said: ‘Britain’s Muslims make up just 5 per cent of the population but have a younger demographic profile than other faiths, as these figures show. It matters to us all that this next generation of young British Muslims develops a clear and confident sense of their British identity alongside their Muslim faith. It’s important that schools teach all of our children the values of respect and tolerance.
Sughra Ahmed, president of the Islamic Society of Britain, says we need to ensure that communities come together to stop extremism.
‘Britain is doing better at this than many of our neighbours. A major new study this week showed that most people think the children of immigrants are integrating well.
‘This is one of the most tolerant countries in the world. It will continue to be so, provided we all understand how that depends on respect for the beliefs of others too.’
Until Muslims take to the streets in their thousands to condemn Radical Islam and say ”NOT IN OUR NAME” then it is not possible to believe their sincerity and neither believe their willingness to exhibit tolerance towards those of other faiths.
Yes British people are tolerant , but their patience is beginning to wear very thin!
IS THIS MUSLIM TOLERANCE?….IS THIS MUSLIM INTEGRATION?
~~Defender of Faith~Guardian of Truth~~ 
London and England will soon be a place where we can buy 9 year old Islamic Sex Slaves
Robin,I guess if you were a muslim living in London and knew the right people ,you could more than likely do that right now!
The biggest fault of having more Muslims than Christians is not the fault of immigration and segregation. Most Western youngsters are not at all interested in believe in a god and are not interested in spending their time worshipping something or someone.
Christians should come to realise that because of the actions of some clergymen people also lost trust in those churches which often twist their rules like a domino, depending on time and politics, instead of keeping to the books they say to be following.
It is up to the real Christians to stand up and to come up for their faith, telling others the Good News of Salvation. Hopefully they shall soon enough awaken to do some missionary work in their own neighbourhood again.
It is not a matter of ”church going Christians”…it is the plain and simple fact that muslims are outbreeding us ,slowly but surely….. people don’t need to attend a church to believe in Christ …many Christians nowadays do not attend church regularly but still class themselves as Christians …….
But in which way do they fulfil the requirements of their faith, keeping to the Laws of God?
In many countries there are many people who say they are Christian, but do not believe in God nor in His son Jesus Christ. They are just name Christians.
If you remember the thief on the cross next to Jesus (Luke 23:39-43), Jesus promises this man that he will be with him in paradise. This man never got to go to church, and yet he is a Christian because he trusts in Jesus. So in that sense it is true to say that you don’t have to be a church goer to be a Christian. In fact as soon as you say you “have to do something” to be a Christian you are in danger of getting the gospel message wrong!
And what about the ‘small gate’ and other parables which show we do have to do something. Do you also really think a person who is baptised but continues to be paedophile, rapist, murderer without repentance can enter the Kingdom of God?
Regarding the decline in believers in Britain, the newspaper The Guardian said already in 2002: “Christianity has never looked in worse shape.” The article states that “for priest and presbyter, 1950-2000 was the worst of half-centuries.” Referring to a special report on religion in the United Kingdom, the newspaper shows that not only young people but also the elderly are losing faith in institutional religion. It says: “Older people are losing faith in God as they age. New research confirming the trend will shock Britain’s crisis-hit churches, which until now have regarded the elderly as the enduring backbone of their dwindling congregations.”
Similar trends are found outside of Europe. For instance, the Canadian magazine Alberta Report says that Canada is experiencing a “collapse of institutional belief and worship” and that “three times as many Canadians prefer their own subjective imaginings of God to submission to a clear creed.”
Many people simply do not feel spiritually enriched or enlightened by attending church services. According to Canada’s Maclean’s magazine, both Jews and Catholics who were interviewed at a Himalayan ashram, or Hindu religious retreat, voiced the opinion: “We were no longer moved and touched by wooden rituals.” Indeed, even after many years of faithful church attendance, some find themselves wondering, ‘What have I really learned in church? Am I closer to God as a result?’ No wonder that, as author Gregg Easterbrook put it, “in the West, spiritual poverty has replaced material poverty as the leading want of our age.”
Of course, there are many lands in which church attendance figures are more robust. However, attending church does not always mean adhering loyally to church teachings. For example, the Australian newspaper The Age states that in the West, “the proportion of Christians who practise their religion is declining rapidly. In much of Africa, Asia and Latin America, Christianity is a veil behind which many people continue to embrace more exotic tribal or cultic beliefs that have nothing to do with orthodox Christian teachings, often contradict them, and were officially jettisoned years ago.”