Much has been said about the rise of the religiously unaffiliated here in America, but over in England it seems the situation is much more dire than it is here in the states.
In fact, more than half — 53 percent — of Brits now report that they are not at all religious, up five percentage points since 2015, the Independent reported.
READ: ‘Statistical Crisis’: Millennials Are Fleeing Faith — but is There a Fix?
And, perhaps more stunningly, this year’s proportion is up 19 percentage points when compared to 1983 when just 32 percent of the public said the same, according to statistics collected by the National Centre for Social Research, a social research group.
Overall, just over four-in-10 British citizens said that they are Christian, with the declines coming in hardest among Church of England members, with just 15 percent of the population claiming allegiance to the Anglican church.
Perhaps most concerning, though, is the fact that just 3 percent of young people between the ages of 18 and 24 consider themselves Anglican, with 71 percent of people in this age cohort saying that they have no religion, up from 62 percent in 2015. Read more about these shocking statistics here.
In the U.S., these demographics look quite different, with 71 percent of citizens calling themselves Christian of some sort. That said, that proportion is down from 78 percent in 2007, with 23 percent of the public now calling itself religiously unaffiliated.
As Faithwire previously reported, much has been said about the “statistical crisis” facing Christianity, particularly when it comes to young people. It’s no secret that Millennials here in the U.S. have been fleeing faith, as they’re much more likely than past generations to shun religious affiliation.
In fact, nearly four-in-1o Americans born in 1981 or after count themselves as being unaffiliated with a particular faith or denomination. It’s a statistical crisis that has churches and pastors wondering what can be done to bring young people back into the pews. Find out more about what some experts believe can be done to curb the problem.