Chapter 4: A Modern, Thriving Society

Religion

Última verificação: 15 July 2026

These are the testable facts for this section, written in our own words (the handbook text itself is Crown copyright — and reading facts twice beats re-reading prose anyway). Work top to bottom, then drill the section below.

What you need to know

The UK is historically a Christian country, but everyone has the legal right to practise the religion of their choice — or no religion.
In the 2009 Citizenship Survey, 70% of people identified themselves as Christian; the next-largest groups: Muslim (4%), Hindu (2%), Sikh (1%), Jewish and Buddhist (each less than 0.5%); 21% said they had no religion.
There are religious buildings for other faiths all over the UK — mosques, temples, synagogues and gurdwaras.
The Church of England is the official Church of the state in England — the "established church"; it is Anglican (called Episcopal in Scotland and the USA).
The Church of England came into existence in the 1530s under Henry VIII.
The monarch is the head of the Church of England (Supreme Governor) and must be Protestant; the monarch's coronation includes a promise to maintain the Protestant religion.
The spiritual leader of the Church of England is the Archbishop of Canterbury; the monarch appoints the Archbishop on the advice of the Prime Minister, who considers a Church-led selection committee's nomination.
Several senior Church of England bishops sit in the House of Lords.
Scotland's national church is the Church of Scotland — a Presbyterian church, governed by ministers and elders; its chairperson is the Moderator, appointed for one year and chairing the General Assembly.
Wales and Northern Ireland have NO established (official state) church.
Other Christian denominations in the UK include Roman Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians and Quakers; about 10% of Christians in the UK are Roman Catholic (the proportion is higher in Northern Ireland).
Patron saints: each UK country has a national saint with a special feast day.
St David's Day (Wales) — 1 March; St Patrick's Day (Northern Ireland) — 17 March; St George's Day (England) — 23 April; St Andrew's Day (Scotland) — 30 November.
Only Scotland and Northern Ireland have their patron saint's day as an official public holiday.
Patron saints' days are increasingly celebrated with parades and festivities even where they are not holidays.

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