Religion in Britain: Neither Believing nor Belonging

TLDR

European scholarship has framed the phenomenon of “believing without belonging” as a key trend in contemporary religion. The study tests whether religious belief remains stable despite declining church attendance in Britain. Using data from the British Household Panel Survey and the British Social Attitudes surveys, the authors analyze period, cohort, and age effects on religious change. The analysis shows that belief has declined in Britain at the same pace as affiliation and attendance, is lower than nominal belonging, and that generational effects drive the decline; moreover, only about half of parental religiosity is transmitted to children, with absence of religion almost always passed on, indicating weak transmission for both belief and belonging.

Abstract

‘Believing without belonging’ has become the catchphrase of much European work on religion in the past decade. The thesis that religious belief is fairly robust even if churchgoing is declining is examined using data from the British Household Panel Survey and the British Social Attitudes surveys. The evidence suggests that belief has in fact eroded in Britain at the same rate as two key aspects of belonging: religious affiliation and attendance. Levels of belief are lower than those of nominal belonging. The roles of period, cohort and age effects on religious change are considered; the conclusion is that decline is generational. In relation to the rates at which religion is transmitted from parents to children, the results suggest that only about half of parental religiosity is successfully transmitted, while absence of religion is almost always passed on. Transmission is just as weak for believing as for belonging.