Calendar and guide to the most significant religious festivals 2009-2013related to religions commonly found in the UK

This calendar and guide is a tool that requires you to take action. It comprises 3 elements:

Part A - Guide Part B - Calendar (see separate Excel spreadsheet)Part C - National Statistics

This document contains Parts A and C

AcknowledgmentsWe would like to acknowledge the series ‘Faith Guides for Higher Education1’ published by the Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies, Higher Education Academy, School of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Leeds for guiding us broadly in the development of this calendar. For making available long-term festival dates we would like to acknowledge the BBC2 online multi-faith calendar. For brief descriptions of religious festivals we acknowledge the BBC online multi-faith calendar and the Shap Calendar of Religious Festivals3. For information around rights and responsibilities we would like to acknowledge the Equality Challenge Unit Briefing titled ‘Religious observance in higher education’. For information about Human Rights, in particular Article 9, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, we acknowledge the Department for Constitutional Affairs publication ‘Human rights: human lives - A handbook for public authorities’.

We would like in particular, to express our sincere thanks to Hugh Beattie, Gwilym Beckerlegge, David Herbert, Helen Waterhouse, and Melanie Wright - our academic colleagues who willingly gave their expertise in identifying the most significant festivals, explaining their impact on staff and students, and for providing general support so that the guidance contained here is consistent and relevant. Special thanks as well go to Jane Duffield and Julie Tayler in Central Secretariat for their ideas on improving the usability of the calendar.

For making available statistical information about religious populations in the UK we acknowledge the National Statistics website: www.statistics.gov.uk Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI). Reproduced under the terms of the Click-Use Licence.

Published: July 2009

Comments about this calendar are most welcome and should be sent for the attention of the Manager, Equality and Diversity.

Equality and Diversity OfficeStrategy UnitThe Open UniversityWalton HallMilton KeynesMK7 6AA

Telephone: +44(0) 1908 652867 or 652566Minicom: +44(0) 1908 653074Email: strategy-equality@open.ac.ukWeb: www.open.ac.uk/equality-diversity

1 The Faith Guides for Higher Education series covering Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism are available online from The Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies website: http://www.prs.heacademy.ac.uk/publications/faith_guides.html2 For details of the BBC online multi-faith calendar please visit the BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/tools/calendar/3 For details of the Shap Calendar of Religious Festivals visit The Shap working party on Education in World Religions website: http://www.shapworkingparty.org.uk/calendar.html

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Contents

Part A - Guide Page

1. Overall aim. 5

2. What is the purpose of the calendar? 5

3. What information is included in the calendar and guide? 5

4. Who is the calendar for? 6

5. How should I use the calendar? 6

6. What are the main changes in the calendar compared to the previous version? 7

7. What is our policy on student examination arrangements and religious festivals? 8

8. What is our policy on staff annual leave entitlement for purposes of religious observance? 8

9. Health warning. 9

10. About the Buddhist festival. 9

11. About Christian festivals. 9

12. About Hindu festivals. 9

13. About Jewish festivals. 9

14. About Muslim festivals. 10

15. About Sikh festivals. 10

16. Multi-faith prayer room.11

17. Publication, comments and other available supporting information. 11

18. Want to learn more about religion? How about completing an Open University course? 11

Part B - Calendar (see separate Excel spreadsheet4)

The calendar provides a range of information for the most significant festivals related to religions commonly found in the UK: Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, and Sikh.

Festival dates are provided for the period 2009 to 2013 (where known). Where festivals last for several days the most important days have been shown explicitly.

A flag indicator to identify the impact of festivals on staff and student activities.

A brief description for each listed festival.

A broad assessment of festival impact on staff and student activities.

Part C - National Statistics5

19. Religious populations in Great Britain - April 2001. 13

4 Part B of the calendar (the actual calendar) is published in an Excel spreadsheet format to enable filtering and sorting of data. The calendar is published on the Strategy Unit’s Equality and Diversity Office webpage: http://www.open.ac.uk/equality-diversity/p5_2.shtml5 Source: National Statistics website: www.statistics.gov.uk Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI). Reproduced under the terms of the Click-Use Licence.

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Contents continued

20. Religion geographic distribution in Great Britain - April 2001. 14

21. Religion geographic diversity in England and Wales - April 2001. 15

22. Religion, age and sex distribution in Great Britain - April 2001. 16

23. Religion and education in Great Britain - April 2001. 17

24. Religion and ethnicity in Great Britain - April 2001. 18

25. Religion and the labour market in Great Britain - 2004. 20

26. Communities in Northern Ireland - April 2001. 22

27. Northern Ireland Labour Market - 2002/03. 23

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Part A - Guide1. Overall aim

The aim is to create an inclusive working and learning environment where all individuals are valued and encouraged to participate fully.

2. What is the purpose of the calendar?2.1. The purpose of this calendar is to provide staff (i.e. you) with a usable tool so that you can take

account of the most significant religious festival dates in your long-term and short-term planning of University activities involving staff and students.

2.2. Whilst we are driven by our mission6, our strong commitment to social justice, and our core values7, the University does have legal responsibilities8 to ensure its practices do not disadvantage staff and students on grounds of a person’s religion or belief, or interfere with their right to manifest their religion or belief, unless the requirement is proportionate in the circumstances and contributes to achieving a legitimate aim. We recognise the need to strike a balance between the University’s needs and a person’s right to manifest their belief. Normally there is no conflict, but where it does arise, the law requires us to seek a reasonable compromise.

2.3. Taking account of significant religious festival dates, anticipating and responding positively to different needs, is one way in which you can contribute to bring about the inclusive learning and working culture we are working to achieve and at the same time, help meet the University’s legal obligations.

3. What information is included in the calendar and guide?3.1. The calendar includes only the most significant festivals related to religions commonly found in

the UK (Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism). ‘Significance’ here means no more than impact on the workplace and learning environment, related to those religions with the largest populations in the UK.

3.2. For the festivals listed, the calendar provides the following information:

a) Festival dates for 2009 to 2013 (where known).

b) A flag indicator (red, amber, blue) to identify festival impact on staff and student activities.

c) A brief description of each festival.

d) A broad assessment of festival impact on staff and student activities.

6 For details of The Open University’s mission visit the OU website: http://www.open.ac.uk/about/ou/p2.shtml7 For details of The Open University’s core values visit the OU website pages related to ‘OU Futures’: http://www.open.ac.uk/ou-futures/values-core.shtm8 The University has legal responsibilities under the Employment Equality (Religion and Belief) Regulations 2003 and the Equality Act 2006 which apply in Great Britain; the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 applies in Northern Ireland; and the Human Rights Act applies in the UK.

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3.3. Designed to be a helpful and effective tool for managers and staff involved in planning activities, the calendar includes only a small selection of festivals identified for their relevance and impact on University activities. Inclusion of all festivals for every religion represented in the UK would make the calendar unusable, however staff and students who observe other religious festivals not included in the calendar should make their needs known. For those who are interested in other religious festivals not included in this calendar might want to use a multi-faith calendar, such as the Shap Calendar9 or, use the online BBC calendar10.

3.4. The guide (Part A) provides supporting information to help you get the most out of the calendar, as well as supplying information about related University policies, courses, and facilities.

3.5. To help you understand about the religious populations in the UK some national statistics are provided at Part C of this document - these look separately at Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

4. Who is the calendar for?4.1. This calendar is for you:

a) If you use a diary or calendar.

b) If you are involved in long-term and short-term planning arrangements for:1) Day schools/other schools.2) Examinations/assessment.3) Residential schools.4) Tutorials.5) Committees, groups, networks, clubs etc.6) Events, conferences, meetings, training, seminars, team-building etc.7) Communications, and marketing activities.8) Community liaison, and volunteering.

c) If you are involved in delivery of services to students, staff and visitors - either directly or via contractors or consultants e.g.1) Student support.2) Tutorials.3) Catering provision.4) Multi-faith prayer room provision.5) Open days.

d) If you manage people.e) If you have face-to-face or telephone contact with visitors, students, staff, and Council

members.

5. How should I use the calendar?5.1. Use the calendar to identify the festivals for religions commonly found in the UK most likely to

impact on the workplace and student activities and incorporate these dates into your existing long-term and short-term planning tools, procedures and practices so that you can help create an inclusive working and learning environment within your OU activities. Where unavoidable clashes occur you should assess the impact, consider consulting participants and provide alternative arrangements for those affected.

9 For details of the Shap Calendar of Religious Festivals visit The Shap working party on Education in World Religions website: http://www.shapworkingparty.org.uk/calendar.html 10 The BBC online multi-faith calendar is available on the BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/

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5.2. Recognising the need to balance avoiding festival dates and University operational demands, a simple ‘flag indicator’ system has been developed to identify festival impact on the workplace and student learning and assessment activities. Definitions of flag indicators are as follows:

a) Red: Festivals which should be considered as ‘essential dates to avoid’ such as Christmas, Easter and Yom Kippur – these dates should be blocked from the start and not considered at all for your activities. These dates would have a major impact on staff and students observing these festivals.

b) Amber:   Those dates which you should ‘avoid if at all possible’ as they relate to some of the most important festivals for people belonging to religions commonly found in the UK, and are likely to affect staff working or student learning/assessment activities. Where a clash is unavoidable, participants should be consulted and alternative arrangements made for those affected.

c) Blue:   Other notable activities/festivals which staff should be sensitive to and take into account but which are unlikely to prevent staff working/student learning/assessment activities. However, these festivals might require some alternative arrangements to be made for those affected.

5.3. Remember the overall aim is to create an inclusive working and learning environment. The flag system is intended to be a tool to support and guide you. If you find it helpful from a planning perspective to avoid all of these dates then so much the better - you would be taking very positive steps towards creating an inclusive culture. However, it is recognised that some areas are likely to find blocking all dates quite challenging and cause practical difficulties. These areas in particular are likely to find the flag system helpful in determining the key dates to be avoided, dates for which it would be highly desirable to avoid, and those festival dates which are unlikely to affect staff and students except in certain circumstances e.g. evening or weekend activities. If you keep the overall aim in mind you won’t go far wrong in using the calendar.

5.4. The calendar has been created as an Excel spreadsheet to enable you to sort data according to your need e.g. you can sort data by year in ascending order, by religion, by flag etc.

6. What are the main changes in the calendar compared to the previous version?

6.1. Festival dates are shown for the period 2009 to 2013 (where known).

6.2. Baha’i festivals have been removed in response to feedback received from academic advisers. It was felt that inclusion of Baha’i, a minority religion in the UK was an anomaly as festivals for other minority religions were not included so for consistency Baha’i festivals have been removed.

6.3. Two additional Muslim festivals have been included:

a) Ashura, 10th Muharram.

b) Milad an-Nabi, 12th Rabi al-Awwal.

6.4. Introduction of a flag indicator system (red, amber, blue) to identify festival impact on the workplace and student activities.

6.5. For those festivals lasting more than one day we have made explicit the most important dates, this includes those festivals or activities starting from sundown the previous day e.g. Jewish festivals and Shabbat.

6.6. The calendar has been produced as an Excel spreadsheet rather than a Word table to enable filtering and sorting of data e.g. sort festivals by year in ascending order.

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7. What is our policy on student examination arrangements and religious festivals?

7.1. We try to avoid setting examinations that clash with major religious festivals. If a student is unable to attend an examination on religious grounds they are asked to contact their regional or national centre at the earliest opportunity - the exact deadline (normally at least 12 weeks before the examination) is published in the ‘Examination Timetable’ and in the ‘Examination Arrangements’ documents11.

7.2. Where evidence is provided by a religious leader on the adverse effects of timetabled examinations, permission may be granted for alternative arrangements:

a) Alteration of the start and finish times of examinations.

b) For a student due to sit an examination scheduled for an afternoon session on the eve of a holy day, the examination will be sat in the morning session of the same day.

c) Where a student observes an entire period of a religious festival or series of holy days and is unable to sit an examination they will automatically be eligible for deferral to the next examination opportunity. If an examination deferral will have a significant detrimental effect on a student’s academic progress, or if the deferral date clashes with a religious festival, a case may be made to the Exceptional Examination Arrangements and Special Circumstances Sub-Committee to sit the examination prior to the next examination opportunity. If this is approved by the Sub-Committee, the relevant Examination and Assessment Board will be required to provide a separate question paper and this will be sat on a separate date. Such cases requiring a separate paper are expected to be exceptional and, in order to make appropriate arrangements, students must apply to the OU at the earliest opportunity.

7.3. For further details and information about arrangements for appropriate supervision of students, please see the Assessment Policy Office ‘Statement of Assessment Policy and Guidance’ (SAPP) 5.11 ‘Guidance on examination arrangements and religious festivals and/or holy days’, published on the Student Services Examinations and Assessment intranet site12.

8. What is our policy on staff annual leave entitlement for purposes of religious observance? Days taken in addition to normal Public holidays for purposes of religious observances e.g. Ramadan, Diwali, or the Jewish New Year etc, should be allowed by Heads of Unit but taken as part of the contractual holiday entitlement. Employers are not obliged to give time off for religious observances when the time is not made up. For details of other reasonable accommodation of religious observances please see the University’s leave policy (MOPP Section 11, paragraph 11.2.1), which is available on the Human Resources staff intranet site.

11 The documents ‘Examination Timetable’ and ‘Examination Arrangements’ are published on the OU website: http://www.open.ac.uk/assessment/pages/examination-periods.php12 SAPP 5.11 Guidance on examination arrangements and religious festivals and/or holy days is published on the Student Services Examinations and Assessment staff intranet site.

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9. Health warning9.1. This calendar comes with a health warning and you are reminded of its limitations.

9.2. As with many multi-faith calendars, the religions included tend to have the biggest or most effective voices in inter-faith networks. Once you go beyond dealing with the largest UK religious groups in terms of population it becomes increasingly hard to justify why some religions are included and others excluded. It is for this reason that this calendar covers festivals related to Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism.

9.3. Whilst we work towards achieving a more inclusive workplace and learning environment please remember that this calendar can only include so much and other groups (sects within the largest UK religious groups or those belonging to minority religious groups) will have different needs and might select different festivals as the most significant in their year. Although this would have little impact on the workplace or on student activities because of the relatively modest numbers of those affected, for the individuals concerned the festivals could have great significance.

10. About the Buddhist festivalThe calendar includes only one Buddhist festival - Buddha Day, the date of which varies from year to year. Since the date varies for Buddhists from different countries there is no need to avoid meetings or other staff and student activities on this festival date, consequently this festival has been allocated to the ‘blue’ flag category.

11. About Christian festivalsMany of the UK’s Public holidays have their origins in observance of the Christian religion. Therefore as a matter of routine significant Christian dates are generally ‘blocked’ in our calendar e.g. Christmas and Easter, consequently these festivals have been allocated to the ‘red’ flag category.

12. About Hindu festivals12.1. Two Hindu festivals are included in the calendar and both have been assigned ‘blue’ flags. The

dates for Krishna Janmashtami and Diwali vary from year to year.

12.2. There is great diversity in Hinduism with no single version of Hinduism operating among Hindu communities in Britain. The comments on Hindu festivals in this calendar reflect a perspective from British Hindus of Gujarati descent, which seems appropriate as they are the largest UK group (and are most commonly represented in community groups), but other British Hindu groups might select different festivals as the most popular/important in their year, although this would have little impact on the workplace because of the relatively modest numbers of those affected.

13. About Jewish festivals13.1. Shabbat the Jewish Sabbath starts every Friday about one hour before dusk and lasts for

approximately 25 hours. The calendar entry for ‘Shabbat’ explains that Jewish law requires Jews to refrain from various acts of ‘work’ on the weekly Sabbath and that this observance applies to Jewish festivals - Shabbat is equally as important as Jewish festivals. Practicing Jews will want to leave work or learning activities in sufficient time to arrive home by the start of the Shabbat. However, you can accommodate Shabbat by avoiding scheduling meetings, or setting deadlines for the end of Friday afternoon - and this applies only for a few weeks in the winter when the sun sets during or immediately after the working day.

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13.2. With the exception of the Seder meal at the beginning of Pesach/ Passover, and the fast on Yom Kippur, it is impossible to say that any of the Jewish festivals featured in this calendar is observed by everyone who identifies as Jewish. However, all modern movements within Judaism (Orthodox, Reform, Liberal, Masorti etc) share the basic festival calendar outlined in this document.

13.3. The ‘big 3’ Jewish festivals have been allocated ‘red flags’ - they are:

a) Rosh Hashanah (New Year).

b) Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement - the holiest day in the Jewish calendar).

c) Pesach (Passover).

13.4. Two Jewish festivals allocated an ‘amber flag’, together with the ‘big 3’ festivals (mentioned above) comprise the 5 main Jewish festivals:

a) Shavuot (Pentecost).

b) Sukkot (Tabernacles).

Note: For Orthodox observant Jews all of these festivals would be considered ‘red flag’.

14. About Muslim festivals14.1. Two Muslim festivals have been assigned ‘red’ flags:

a) Eid-ul-Fitr - the date varies annually for this festival of the breaking of the fast after Ramadan, the first day of this festival should be ‘blocked’ in University calendars and not used for meetings, deadlines or other staff and student activities.

b) Eid-ul-Adha - the date varies annually for this major festival, the ‘Festival of Sacrifice’, avoid both festivals days which should be ‘blocked’ and not used for meetings, deadlines or other staff and student activities.

14.2. Other Muslim festivals have been allocated to the ‘blue’ flag category as they are unlikely to affect staff and student activities whilst being of significance to Muslims:

a) Milad an-Nabi, 12th Rabi al-Awwal - the date varies annually for this festival. Sunni Muslims celebrate this festival which commemorates the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, 5 days before Shi’ite Muslims (note that 90% of Muslims in the world are Sunnis and most of the remainder are Shi’ites13).

b) Ashura, 10th Muharram - the date varies annually for this festival which marks several important events.

14.3. Ramadan the Muslim month of fasting has been assigned a ‘blue’ flag because although it does affect Muslim staff and students, its impact can be accommodated reasonably and there is no need to avoid scheduling activities, providing Muslims who are observing the fast can return home by sundown so as not to prolong the fast.

15. About the Sikh festivals15.1. This calendar provides information about the most significant festival dates in the Sikh year.

The majority of these are celebrated on fixed dates in the Gregorian calendar whilst a few festivals are celebrated on dates according to the Hindu calendar and consequently their date varies:

a) Guru Gobind Singh's birthday - 5 January

13 Source: Faith Guides for Higher Education - A guide to Islam, Amjad Hussain and Kate El-Alami available on the Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies/Higher Education Academy website: http://www.prs.heacademy.ac.uk/publications/faith_guides.html

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b) Vaisakhi/Baisakhi - 14 April

c) Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev - 16 May

d) Diwali - date varies annually

e) Birthday of Guru Nanak - date varies in November

f) Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadar - 24 November

15.2. As Sikh festivals are mostly commemorated at the weekend in practice, all Sikh festivals have been allocated to the ‘blue’ flag category.

16. Multi-faith Prayer Room16.1. A multi-faith prayer room is located at Walton Hall - Wilson ‘C’ Block, ground floor, room 017

which is suitable for use by individuals or small groups (2 or 3 people) who wish to pray together or for those seeking peace for quiet contemplation. The prayer room is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. The room can be booked in advance or users can just turn up (most users tend to do this). Comments are welcome and may be recorded in the comments book provided or emailed to: human-resources-policy@open.ac.uk

16.2. Regional/national centres that have requests for prayer facilities will need to consider appropriate provisions. Whilst it will not be possible for all regional and national centres to provide a dedicated room, the principle is that individual requests for facilities for prayer will be accommodated where possible (within constraints on accommodation).

16.3. If regional and national centres have suitable accommodation and would like advice on setting up a room please contact Human Resources: Satvinder Reyatt (01908 653345) or Dawn Steel (01908 652849) or email to: human-resources-policy@open.ac.uk

17. Publication, comments and other available supporting information17.1. The calendar is ‘owned’ by the Strategy Unit’s Equality and Diversity Office and is published on

the ‘Key Tools’ webpage on the Equality and Diversity Office staff intranet site.

17.2. This document supersedes the previous version covering 2007-2010, published July 2007, which should be destroyed and replaced by this version.

17.3. Comments are most welcome and should be emailed to: strategy-equality@open.ac.uk

17.4. Additional supporting information related to religion is available to the ‘Key information/religion’ webpage on the Equality and Diversity Office staff intranet site.

18. Want to learn more about religion? How about completing an Open University course?

18.1. The University has significant expertise on religion and offers a range of Religious Studies courses14 for degrees, diplomas and certificates including:

a) Respecting religious diversity at work (GA063), a new Continuing Professional Development course which explores the implications of religious diversity for those who interact with members of different religions on a professional or voluntary basis.

b) Introducing religions (A217) by exploring the religious concepts and principles underpinning a wide range of worldviews and lifestyles, this course aims to enhance knowledge and understanding of ideas and events past and present, around the world.

14 For further information on particular Open University courses visit http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/

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c) Islam in the west: the politics of co-existence (AD252) is designed to introduce and stimulate informed debate about the role of Islam in western societies.

d) Religion in history: conflict, conversion and coexistence (AA307). This course is designed to appeal both to those interested in religion in the contemporary world and wanting to understand its long-term context, and to those studying history who would like to explore the profound role played by religion in shaping the past.

e) Religion today: tradition, modernity and change (AD317) studies examples of religious ideas, and teachings from around the world, and sets religion in the wider context of the societies in which it is embedded.

f) Religious Studies part 1 (A880) is a new postgraduate qualification, the first part of an MA in Religious Studies which will develop students’ skill in engaging with significant issues and methods in the academic study of religions. The course has four main sections: Controversies in Religious Studies; Religion from the nineteenth to twenty-first centuries; Religions in modern Britain; Approaches to the study of Religion and Methods.

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Part C - National Statistics15

To set this calendar in context in terms of the UK population, statistical information about the religious populations, their geographical distribution, areas of religious diversity, age and sex distribution, education, ethnicity, and the labour market is outlined below. In addition, information is provided on communities in Northern Ireland (NI) and the NI labour market.

19. Religious populations in Great Britain - April 200116

19.1. Christianity is the main religion in Great Britain. There were 41 million Christians in 2001, making up almost three quarters of the population (72 per cent). This group included the Church of England, Church of Scotland, Church in Wales, Catholic, Protestant and all other Christian denominations.

19.2. People with no religion17 formed the second largest group, comprising 15 per cent of the population.

19.3. About one in 20 (5 per cent) of the population belonged to a non-Christian religious denomination18.

19.4. Muslims were the largest religious group after Christians. There were 1.6 million Muslims living in Britain in 2001. This group comprised 3 per cent of the total population and over half (52 per cent) of the non-Christian religious population.

19.5. Hindus were the second largest non-Christian religious group. There were over half a million Hindus (558,000), comprising 1 per cent of the total population and 18 per cent of the non-Christian religious population.

19.6. There were just over a third of a million Sikhs (336,000), making up 0.6 per cent of the total population and 11 per cent of the non-Christian religious population.

19.7. There were just over a quarter of a million Jewish people (267,000), constituting 0.5 per cent of the total population and 9 per cent of the non-Christian religious group.

19.8. Buddhists numbered 149,000 people in 2001, comprising 0.3 per cent of the population of Great Britain.

19.9. The religion question was the only voluntary question in the 2001 Census and 8 per cent of people chose not to state their religion.

15 Source: National Statistics website: www.statistics.gov.uk Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI). Reproduced under the terms of the Click-Use Licence. 16 Sources: Census April 2001, Office for National Statistics; Census April 2001, General Register Office for Scotland.17 No religion includes people who ticked ‘Non’ at the religion question plus those who wrote in Jedi Knight, Agnostic, Atheist and Heathen and those who ticked ‘Other’ but did not write in any religion.18 The document reflects information published on the Office for National Statistics website - on the ‘Focus on religion’ webpages http://www.statistics.gov.uk/focuson/religion/ consequently the term ‘non-Christian religious denomination’ is quoted rather then using the preferred wording ‘a religion other than Christianity’.

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The distribution of non-Christian religions, April 2001, GB19

20. Religion geographic distribution in Great Britain - April 200120

20.1. People from non-Christian religions are more likely to live in England than in Scotland or Wales. In 2001 they made up 6 per cent of the population in England, compared with only 2 per cent in Wales and 1 per cent in Scotland.

20.2. People from Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim and Sikh backgrounds were concentrated in London and other large urban areas. Christians and those with no religion were more evenly dispersed across the country.

20.3. The Jewish population was the most heavily concentrated in London, with 56 per cent of the Jewish population of Great Britain living there. A further 11 per cent lived in the East of England. Almost one in five Jews (17 per cent) lived in the London Borough of Barnet, where they constituted 15 per cent of the population.

19 The chart of non-Christian religions excludes Christians, people who had no religion and those who did not state their religion.20 Sources: Census April 2001, Office for National Statistics; Census April 2001, General Register Office for Scotland.

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20.4. Just over half (52 per cent) of Britain's Hindu population lived in London. A further 12 per cent lived in the East Midlands and 10 per cent in the West Midlands, with large populations living in particular pockets within these broad areas. In London, Hindus were concentrated in Brent and Harrow where they made up a fifth of each of these populations (17 per cent and 20 per cent respectively). 7 per cent of Hindus lived in Leicester in the East Midlands, where they comprised 15 per cent of the population.

20.5. Around two fifths of Muslims (38 per cent) lived in London. After London, the regions with the next biggest share of the Muslim population were the West Midlands (14 per cent), the North West (13 per cent), and Yorkshire and the Humber (12 per cent). Even within these regions, Muslims were highly concentrated spatially. Muslims made up 8 per cent of London's population overall but 36 per cent of the Tower Hamlets and 24 per cent of the Newham populations.

20.6. Almost a third (31 per cent) of the Sikh population lived in the West Midlands. They were particularly concentrated in the Wolverhampton and Sandwell areas: 8 per cent and 7 per cent respectively of the populations of these local authorities were Sikh. A further 31 per cent of the Sikh population lived in London. They were especially concentrated in West London boroughs, making up almost 10 per cent of the populations of Ealing and Hounslow. They also comprised almost 10 per cent of the population of Slough in the South East.

20.7. Of the 149,000 Buddhists living in Britain in 2001, 36 per cent lived in London with the rest dispersed across the other regions. The highest concentrations of Buddhists were in the London boroughs of Westminster and Camden where they made up 1 per cent of the local population.

20.8. Christians were spread across Britain. London had the lowest proportion of Christians – only 58 per cent of the London population described themselves in this way. People in the North East and the North West were the most likely to describe themselves as Christian with four fifths of people in each of these regions doing so (80 per cent and 78 per cent respectively). People in these regions were the least likely to say they had no religion.

21. Religion geographic diversity in England and Wales - April 200121

21.1. The London borough of Harrow was the most religiously diverse local authority22 area in England and Wales in 2001. It had a diversity score23 of 0.62, representing a 62 per cent chance that two people drawn at random would be from different religious groups. Just under half of the local population of Harrow were Christian (47 per cent), 20 per cent were Hindu, 7 per cent were Muslim and 6 per cent were Jewish.

21.2. Within London, the boroughs of Brent, Redbridge, Barnet, Newham, Ealing and Tower Hamlets had high religious diversity (defined as having scores of 0.50 or higher). Outside London, Leicester was the most religiously diverse with a score of 0.59. The areas with the lowest levels of religious diversity (0.01) were Allerdale and Knowsley in the North West, Sedgefield and Berwick upon Tweed in the North East, and Ryedale in Yorkshire and the Humber.

21.3. Only 11 local authorities (3 per cent) in England and Wales had high levels of religious diversity in 2001 (with scores of 0.50 or higher). In contrast, around three quarters (77 per cent) of local authorities in England and Wales had low religious diversity, with scores of 0.11 or less.

21 Source: Census April 2001, Office for National Statistics.22 In the context of this overview, the term 'local authority' includes areas categorised as counties, unitary authorities, non-metropolitan districts and metropolitan districts.23 The Fractionalisation Index of diversity produces scores that represent the probability that two people chosen at random within a given area will belong to different groups. The index has values from 0 to 1 with 0 indicating no diversity (everyone from the same group) and 1 indicating total diversity (everyone from a different group). For this analysis, scores are classed as highly diverse if they are 0.5 or higher, as this indicates a 50 per cent chance of above that two people drawn at random would be from a different ethnic group.

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22. Religion, age and sex distribution in Great Britain - April 200124

22.1. Muslims have the youngest age profile of all the religious groups in Great Britain. About a third of Muslims (34 per cent) were under 16 years of age in 2001, as were a quarter (25 per cent) of Sikhs and a fifth (21 per cent) of Hindus. There are very few older people in these groups – less than one in ten were aged 65 years or over. The Jewish and Christian groups have the oldest age profiles with one in five aged 65 years or over (22 per cent and 19 per cent respectively).

22.2. These differing age profiles reflect the ethnic make-up of the different religious groups. Christian and Jewish communities contain predominantly White people who have lived in the UK all their lives or who migrated here before the Second World War, and have an older age structure. Muslim, Hindu and Sikh communities are predominantly of South Asian ethnic origin and have a younger age profile, reflecting later immigration and larger family sizes with more children.

22.3. Muslims are the only religious group in which men outnumber women – 52 per cent compared with 48 per cent. This reflects the gender structure of Pakistani and Bangladeshi groups, in which men slightly outnumber women due to their immigration history. In all other religious groups there are either the same proportions of men and women or slightly more women than men, reflecting the fact that women live longer than men in the general population. However, men formed the majority of the 'no religion' group, 56 per cent.

Religion: by age, April 2001, GB

24 Sources: Census April 2001, Office for National Statistics; Census April 2001, General Register Office for Scotland.

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Percentage with no religion: by age and sex, April 2001, GB

22.4. Younger people are more likely than older people not to belong to any religion, reflecting the trend towards secularisation. Among 16 to 34 year olds in Great Britain, almost a quarter (23 per cent) said that they had no religion compared with less than 5 per cent of people aged 65 or over.

23. Religion and education in Great Britain - 200425

23.1. In 2004 a third (33 per cent) of Muslims of working age26 in Great Britain had no qualifications – the highest proportion for any religious group. They were also the least likely to have degrees or equivalent qualifications (12 per cent).

23.2. After Muslims, Sikhs are the next most likely to have no qualifications (20 per cent). Seventeen per cent of Buddhists and a similar proportion of Christians (15 per cent), Hindus (15 per cent) and people with no religion (14 per cent) had no qualifications. Jews were the least likely to have no qualifications (7 per cent).

23.3. Jews, Buddhists and Hindus were more likely than other groups to hold a degree. About four in ten Jews (44 per cent) and three in ten Buddhists (30 per cent) and Hindus (29 per cent) held a degree compared with 22 per cent of people with no religion, 20 per cent of Sikhs and 16 per cent of Christians.

23.4. Across all religions, the pattern for men and women of working age is similar but women are generally more likely than men to have no qualifications.

25 Source Annual Population Survey, January 2004 to December 2004, Office for National Statistics.26 The working age population comprises males aged 16 to 64 and females aged 16 to 59.

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People of working age with no qualifications: by religion, 2004, GB

23.5. Muslims and Sikhs who were born in the UK are more likely than those born elsewhere to have a degree or equivalent qualification, irrespective of age. Among those under the age of 30, UK-born Sikhs and Muslims were almost twice as likely to have degrees in 2004 as those born elsewhere. In contrast, there was little difference in the likelihood of having a degree between Hindus born in the UK and those born elsewhere.

Percentage of 16 to 30 year olds with a degree: by religion and country of birth, 2004, GB

24. Religion and ethnicity in Great Britain - April 200127

24.1. Nine out of ten Sikhs (91 per cent) living in Great Britain in 2001 were from an Indian ethnic background. Hindus were also predominantly Indian (84 per cent). A further 12 per cent of Hindus gave their ethnic group as 'Other Asian', the majority being from Sri Lanka.

24.2. The vast majority of Christians were White (97 per cent) and this group accounted for almost 40 million people. Although Black people made up only 2 per cent of the total Christian population,

27 Sources: Census April 2001, Office for National Statistics; Census April 2001, General Register Office for Scotland.

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71 per cent of Black people were Christian (815,000), as were half (52 per cent or 353,000) of the Mixed ethnic group.

24.3. Three quarters of Muslims (74 per cent) were from an Asian ethnic background, predominantly Pakistani (43 per cent), Bangladeshi (16 per cent), Indian (8 per cent) and Other Asian (6 per cent). There were almost 1.2 million Asian Muslims living in Great Britain in 2001. One in ten Muslims (11 per cent) were from a White ethnic group, 4 per cent were of White British origin and 7 per cent from another White background including Turkish, Cypriot, Arab and Eastern European. A further 6 per cent of Muslims were of Black African origin, mainly from North and West Africa, particularly Somalia.

24.4. The vast majority of Jewish people were White (97 per cent), as were 95 per cent of people who had no religion.

24.5. Buddhism was the most ethnically diverse of all the main religions. It was made up of people from White (38 per cent), Chinese (25 per cent), Asian (10 per cent), Mixed (3 per cent), Black (1 per cent) and Other (24 per cent) ethnic groups.

Religion: by ethnic group, April 2001, GB

24.6. Chinese people are the least religious. In 2001, more than half (53 per cent) said that they had no religion. People from a Mixed ethnic background were the next least religious (23 per cent).

24.7. South Asians and Black Africans were the most religious. Only 2 per cent of Indians, 2 per cent of Black Africans and less than 1 per cent each of Pakistanis and Bangladeshis said that they had no religion.

24.8. People from a White British, Other White, Black Caribbean and Other Black background were somewhere in between with between 11 and 16 per cent stating that they had no religion.

24.9. Younger people were less religious than older people, and this was true for all ethnic groups. The proportions having no religion were so small among South Asians that the variation with age was much less marked for these groups.

24.10. Among most minority ethnic groups, being religious was also related to country of birth. Those born in the UK were less likely to be religious than their immigrant parents born abroad.

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Percentage with no religion: by ethnic group, April 2001, GB

25. Religion and the labour market in Great Britain - 200428

25.1. Unemployment rates29 for Muslims are higher than those for people from any other religion, for both men and women.

25.2. In 2004, Muslims had the highest male unemployment rate in Great Britain, at 13 per cent. This was about three times the rate for Christian men (4 per cent). Unemployment rates for men in the other religious groups were between 3 and 8 per cent.

25.3. The unemployment rate for Muslim women at 18 per cent was about four times the rate for Christian and Jewish women (4 per cent in each case). Unemployment rates for women in the other religious groups were between 6 per cent and 9 per cent.

25.4. Unemployment rates were highest among those aged under 25 years for all religious groups. Muslims aged 16 to 24 years had the highest unemployment rates. They were over twice as likely as Christians of the same age to be unemployed – 28 per cent compared with 11 per cent.

25.5. Although unemployment rates for older Muslims were lower, there was a greater difference between their unemployment rates and those for people from other religious backgrounds. Muslims aged 25 and over were more than three times as likely as Christians of the same age to be unemployed – 11 per cent and 3 per cent respectively.

28 Source Annual Population Survey, January 2004 to December 2004, Office for National Statistics.29 The unemployment rate is based on the International Labour Organisation (ILO) definition as a proportion of all economically active. Economic activity rates are expressed as a proportion of the working age population (men aged 16 to 64, and women aged 16 to 59).

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Unemployment rates: by religion and sex, 2004, GB

25.6. Men and women of working age from the Muslim faith are also more likely than other groups in Great Britain to be economically inactive, that is, not available for work and/or not actively seeking work. Reasons include being a student, being disabled or looking after the family and home.

25.7. Among working age men, Muslims had the highest overall levels of economic inactivity in 2004 – 31 per cent compared with 16 per cent of Christians. This is partly explained by the young age profile of Muslims and the correspondingly high proportion of students. However, among older men of working age, Muslims also tended to have the highest levels of economic inactivity, largely due to ill health.

25.8. Within each religious group women were more likely than men to be economically inactive. The main reason was that they were looking after the family and home. Muslim women were more likely than other women to be economically inactive. About seven in ten (69 per cent) Muslim women of working age were economically inactive, compared with no more than four in ten women of working age in each of the other groups. Christian women were least likely to be economically inactive (25 per cent).

Economic inactivity rates of working age people: by religion and sex, 2004, GB

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26. Communities in Northern Ireland - April 200130

26.1. People from a Protestant community background31 make up the largest group in Northern Ireland. In 2001, 53 per cent of the population was from a Protestant community background. People from a Catholic community background made up the second largest group (44 per cent).

26.2. There were similar proportions of men and women in each of the communities. 49 per cent of people from a Protestant background were men and 51 per cent were women. Among Catholics, 48 per cent were men and 52 per cent were women. In contrast, those with no religious community background were more likely to be men (55 per cent).

26.3. Northern Ireland data on religion are different to those for Great Britain because a very different Census question was asked in Northern Ireland. The religious categories were all divisions of the Christian category together with an 'other religion' option. The distinction between Catholics and Protestants was not available for the rest of the UK.

26.4. People from a Protestant community background have an older age structure than those from a Catholic community background. In 2001, 17 per cent of Protestants were aged 65 years or over compared with 10 per cent of Catholics. Conversely, over a quarter (27 per cent) of people from a Catholic community background were under 16 years of age, compared with a fifth (20 per cent) of those from a Protestant background.

26.5. Northern Ireland is divided into five European Union geographic areas (NUTS32), but only one of these areas, Belfast, was inhabited by roughly equal proportions of people from Catholic and Protestant community backgrounds in 2001 (47 per cent and 49 per cent respectively).

26.6. Outer Belfast and East of Northern Ireland were the areas with the highest proportions of people from a Protestant background (74 per cent and 62 per cent respectively). The highest proportions of people from a Catholic background were found in the West and South of Northern Ireland (65 per cent) and in the North of Northern Ireland (57 per cent).

26.7. The spatial concentration of the different religions can be seen at a smaller geographical level. People from Catholic and Protestant community backgrounds were represented in roughly equal numbers in only two of the 26 local government districts in Northern Ireland in 2001 – Armagh and Belfast.

26.8. Protestants formed the majority population in 13 local government districts and in six of these districts they made up more than three quarters of the population. The highest concentrations of Protestants were found in Carrickfergus (85 per cent), Ards (83 per cent) and North Down (80 per cent).

26.9. Catholics formed the majority population in 11 local government districts. However, they accounted for more than three quarters of the local population in only two: Newry and Mourne (where 81 per cent were from the Catholic community) and Derry (where 75 per cent were Catholics).

30 Source: Census April 2001, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.31 The term community background refers to a person's current religion or if no current religion is stated, the religion that that person was brought up in. Protestant includes 'Other Christian' and 'Christian related', and those brought up as Protestants. Catholic includes those respondents who gave their religion as Catholic or Roman Catholic, and those brought up as Catholics.32 NUTS stands for European Union Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics. NUTS is a hierarchical classification of areas that provide a breakdown of the European Union's economic territory so that regional statistics that are comparable across the Union can be produced.

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Community background (religion or religion brought up in) April 2001, Northern Ireland

27. Northern Ireland Labour Market - 2002/0333

27.1. In Northern Ireland, unemployment rates34 among Catholics were higher than those among Protestants for both men and women in 2002/03.

a) The unemployment rate for Catholic men was 9 per cent compared with 5 per cent for Protestant men. Among women, the unemployment rates were 6 per cent for Catholics compared with 3 per cent for Protestants.

b) This difference is evident for both men and women, and among all age groups, except for men aged under 25. Within this group, unemployment rates for the two communities were very similar.

27.2. A higher proportion of Catholic than Protestant working age men and women were economically inactive, that is not available for work and/or not actively seeking work. Reasons for economic inactivity include being a student, being disabled or looking after the family and home.

a) Overall in 2002/03, 24 per cent of Catholic men were economically inactive compared with 18 per cent of Protestant men. This pattern was the same across most age groups.

b) Economic inactivity rates were higher for women than men, and there was a greater difference between the two religions among women than among men: 42 per cent of Catholic women were inactive compared with 31 per cent of Protestant women. This pattern occurred across all age groups.

27.3. Among men a higher proportion of Catholics than Protestants worked in the construction industry, 25 per cent compared with 15 per cent. There was little variation between Catholic and Protestant women in the industries in which they worked.

27.4. For most age groups there was little difference between Catholics and Protestants in educational achievement in 2002/03. However, Catholics aged 50 and over were more likely

33 Source: Labour Force Survey, Office for National Statistics. The period 2002/03 refers to the year beginning 1st March 2002 and ending 28 February 2003. Respondents to the Labour Force Survey were asked: ‘what is your religious denomination?’ Analysis excludes those with No Religion and those belonging to Other religions. 34 Unemployment rates are expressed as a percentage of the economically active population.

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than Protestants of the same age to have no qualifications35 (49 per cent compared with 40 per cent).

27.5. In 2002/03, around one in ten of both Protestants and Catholics held a degree. Among both groups a quarter had GCE 'A' levels as their highest qualification while a quarter had no qualifications.

Unemployment rate: by religion and sex, 2002/03, Northern Ireland

35 Qualification questions are asked to people in employment aged 16 and over, and to all other people of working age (males 16-64 and females 16-59).

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