England

===Religion===
{{Main|Religion in England}}
{{further|History of Christianity in England}}

In the 2011 census, 59.4% of the population of England specified their religion as Christian, 24.7% answered that they had no religion, 5% specified that they were [[Muslim]], while 3.7% of the population belongs to other religions and 7.2% did not give an answer.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 December 2012 |title=Table KS209EW 2011 Census: Religion, local authorities in England and Wales |url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/datasets/2011censuskeystatisticsforlocalauthoritiesinenglandandwales/r21ewrttableks209ewladv1_tcm77-290705.xls |access-date=22 May 2017 |publisher=Office for National Statistics}}</ref> Christianity is the most widely practised religion in England. The [[established church]] of England is the [[Church of England]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Church of England |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/cofe/cofe_1.shtml |access-date=4 December 2010 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> which left communion with [[Vatican City|Rome]] in the 1530s when [[Henry VIII of England|Henry&nbsp;VIII]] was unable to annul his marriage to [[Catherine of Aragon]]. The church regards itself as both Catholic and [[Protestant]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=In depth history of the Church of England |url=https://www.churchofengland.org/about-us/history/detailed-history.aspx |access-date=25 January 2017 |publisher=Church of England |quote=The religious settlement that eventually emerged in the reign of Elizabeth gave the Church of England the distinctive identity that it has retained to this day. It resulted in a Church that consciously retained a large amount of continuity with the Church of the Patristic and Medieval periods in terms of its use of the catholic creeds, its pattern of ministry, its buildings and aspects of its liturgy, but which also embodied Protestant insights in its theology and in the overall shape of its liturgical practice. The way that this is often expressed is by saying that the Church of England is both 'catholic and reformed.'}}</ref>

There are [[High Church]] and [[Low Church]] traditions and some Anglicans regard themselves as [[Anglo-Catholics]], following the [[Tractarian movement]]. The monarch of the United Kingdom is the [[supreme governor of the Church of England]], which has around 26&nbsp;million baptised members (of whom the vast majority are not regular churchgoers). It forms part of the [[Anglican Communion]] with the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] acting as its symbolic worldwide head.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 June 2008 |title=Global Anglicanism at a Crossroads |url=http://pewresearch.org/pubs/896/global-anglicanism-at-a-crossroads |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813045413/http://pewresearch.org/pubs/896/global-anglicanism-at-a-crossroads |archive-date=13 August 2011 |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=PewResearch.org}}</ref> Many [[List of cathedrals in England|cathedrals]] and parish churches are historic buildings of significant architectural importance, such as [[Westminster Abbey]], [[York Minster]], [[Durham Cathedral]], and [[Salisbury Cathedral]].

[[File:Westminster Abbey, west facade, August 2014.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Westminster Abbey]] is a notable example of [[English Gothic architecture]]. The [[coronation of the British monarch]] traditionally takes place at the Abbey.]]

The second-largest Christian denomination is the [[Catholic Church]]. Since its reintroduction after the [[Catholic Emancipation]], the Church has organised ecclesiastically on an [[Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales|England and Wales]] basis where there are 4.5&nbsp;million members (most of whom are English).<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 February 2008 |title=People here "must obey the laws of the land" |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1578212/People-here-must-obey-the-laws-of-the-land.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=5 September 2009 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1578212/People-here-must-obey-the-laws-of-the-land.html |archive-date=10 January 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref> There has been one Pope from England to date, [[Pope Adrian IV|Adrian IV]], while saints [[Bede]] and [[Anselm of Canterbury|Anselm]] are regarded as [[Doctors of the Church]].

A form of [[Protestantism]] known as [[Methodist Church of Great Britain|Methodism]] is the third largest Christian practice and grew out of Anglicanism through [[John Wesley]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Methodist Church |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/subdivisions/methodist_1.shtml |access-date=5 September 2009}}</ref> It gained popularity in the [[mill town]]s of [[Lancashire]] and [[Yorkshire]], and among tin miners in [[Cornwall]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=AN INDEPENDENT ACADEMIC STUDY ON CORNISH |url=http://www.linguae-celticae.org/dateien/Independent_Study_on_Cornish_Language.pdf |access-date=26 December 2010 |page=8 |archive-date=2 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102111342/http://www.linguae-celticae.org/dateien/Independent_Study_on_Cornish_Language.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> There are other [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|non-conformist]] minorities, such as [[Baptists]], [[Quakers]], [[Congregational church|Congregationalists]], [[Unitarianism|Unitarians]] and [[The Salvation Army]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cambridge History of Christianity |url=http://www.cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521815000&ss=exc |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120721000044/http://www.cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521815000&ss=exc |archive-date=21 July 2012 |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=Hugh McLeod}}</ref>

The patron saint of England is [[Saint George]]; his symbolic cross is included in the flag of England.<ref name="flaghistory">{{Cite web |title=United Kingdom&nbsp;– History of the Flag |url=http://flagspot.net/flags/gb-hist.html |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=FlagSpot.net}}</ref> There are many other English and associated saints, including [[Cuthbert]], [[Edmund the Martyr|Edmund]], [[Saint Alban|Alban]], [[Wilfrid]], [[Aidan of Lindisfarne|Aidan]], [[Edward the Confessor]], [[John Fisher]], [[Thomas More]], [[Saint Petroc|Petroc]], [[Saint Piran|Piran]], [[Margaret Clitherow]] and [[Thomas Becket]]. There are non-Christian religions practised. [[Jews]] have a history of a small minority on the island since 1070.<ref name="jews">{{Cite web |title=From Expulsion (1290) to Readmission (1656): Jews and England |url=http://www.gold.ac.uk/media/350th-anniversary.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721183112/http://www.gold.ac.uk/media/350th-anniversary.pdf |archive-date=21 July 2011 |access-date=1 February 2009 |publisher=Goldsmiths.ac.uk}}</ref> They were expelled from England in 1290 following the [[Edict of Expulsion]], and were allowed back in 1656.<ref name="jews" />

Especially since the 1950s, religions from the [[British Empire|former British colonies]] have grown in numbers, due to immigration. [[Islam]] is the most common of these, now accounting for around 5% of the population in England.<ref name="statsio">{{Cite web |last=Office for National Statistics |author-link=Office for National Statistics |title=Religion |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=8301 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090707100949/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=8301 |archive-date=7 July 2009 |access-date=5 September 2009 |publisher=Statistics.gov.uk}}</ref> [[Hinduism]], [[Sikhism]] and [[Buddhism]] are next in number, adding up to 2.8% combined,<ref name="statsio" /> introduced from India and [[Southeast Asia]].<ref name="statsio" />

A small minority of the population practise ancient [[Pagan religion]]s. [[Neopaganism in the United Kingdom]] is primarily represented by [[Wicca]] and [[Neopagan witchcraft]], [[Neo-Druidry|Druidry]], and [[Germanic neopaganism|Heathenry]]. According to the [[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 census]], there are roughly 53,172 people who identify as Pagan in England,{{Efn|name=pagan|People who strictly identified as "Pagan". Other Pagan paths, such as Wicca or Druidism, have not been included in this number.<ref name="2011 ONS results">{{Cite web |title=2011 ONS results |url=http://ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/rft-table-qs210ew.xls |access-date=28 October 2017}}</ref>}} including 11,026 [[Wicca]]ns.{{Efn|People who strictly identified as "Wiccan". Other Pagan paths, such as Druidism, and general "Pagan" have not been included in this number.<ref name="2011 ONS results" />}} 24.7% of people in England declared [[Irreligion|no religion]], compared with 14.6% in 2001.<ref name="2011 ONS results" /> [[Norwich]] had the highest such proportion at 42.5%, followed by [[Brighton and Hove]] at 42.4%.