The average age of people in England and Wales identifying as Christian is now above 50, while a majority of most young adults say they have no religion, the 2021 census shows. Nearly three in 10 who identify as Christian are 65 and over – up from just over two in 10 a decade ago.
An ageing population and differences in the way people choose to self-identify were among the factors driving the trend, experts said. The median age – or exact midpoint – of people identifying as Christian was 51 at the 2021 census, up from 45 in 2011, according to new analysis from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This is the oldest average age among all main religious groups. The youngest average age is 27 years, for people identifying as Muslim, up from 25 in 2011.
