R.T. Kendall Not Surprised Christianity Has Become a Minority in UK
Read Time: 2 Minutes 56 Seconds
According to Census 2021, Christianity has now become a minority in England and Wales. And pastor and author R.T. Kendall, who spent 25 years as the senior minister at Westminster Chapel in London, says it’s only going to get worse.
The 2021 census revealed that only 46.2% of people identified themselves as Christians, compared with 59.3% of the population in the 2011 census, a 13-percentage point drop over the past decade.
Kendall says its simply a sign of the times we’re living in, and that he thinks the number of believing and practicing Christians is far below than what the census reveals. One of the key findings from the census, theguardian.com revealed, helps explain the drop: the significant rise in people identifying as no particular faith at all.
“When you consider the people who call themselves Christians, that doesn’t mean they are believers,” Kendall said from his home in Tennessee in an exclusive interview with Charisma News. “They were baptized into the Church of England. In other words, you put on your passport whether you’re a Christian or a Muslim.
“I honestly believe the number of Bible-believing Christians in England is much, much lower than that. It’s pretty awful. Many who are quote ‘nominal’ Christians, they don’t want to call themselves Christians or identify themselves as Christians.”
In September after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles became “The Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England.” But King Charles took it a step further, revealing exactly what that title means to him:
“I am determined, as King, to preserve and promote those principles across all communities, and for all beliefs, with all my heart. This conviction was the foundation of everything my beloved mother did for our country, over her years as our Queen. It has been the foundation of my own work as Prince of Wales. It will continue to be the foundation of all my work as King.”
CBN News reported that Andrew Copson, chief executive of the group Humanists U.K., said “the dramatic growth of the non-religious” had made the U.K. “almost certainly one of the least religious countries on Earth.”
“One of the most striking things about these results is how at odds the population is from the state itself,” he said. “No state in Europe has such a religious set-up as we do in terms of law and public policy, while at the same time having such a non-religious population.”
And the decline in Christianity in England has resulted in many calling for the Church of England to be canceled.
As to the direction Great Britain is headed spiritually, Kendall says to look no further than the political atmosphere of the country in recent times.
“Almost every major city in Britain has a Muslim for a mayor, and of course, the prime minister (Rishi Sunak) is a Hindu,” Kendall says. “That should tell you something right there.
“Jesus said that in the last days, the church would be asleep. The wise virgins and the foolish virgins both would be asleep spiritually. And, of course, you don’t know you were asleep until you wake up. The church is already asleep, and this is happening around us. Then suddenly we get a jolt and wake up in the moment, but then we go back to sleep. I can’t imagine it being any worse than it is, but get ready. It will be.”
More than half the people in six areas of South Wales do not follow any religion, according to Census 2021. The number of people identifying as Christians dropped by 5.5 million over the past decade.
The Guardian reported that “while all the other major religions witnessed increased numbers, the deficit in those identifying as Christians was comfortably surpassed by the increase of 8.5 million who stated no religion in Census 2021, rising to 22.2 million.”
That’s more than a third of the population of England and Wales, up from a quarter just a decade ago. The number of people in the “other religion” category (Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, etc.) grew by more than 100,000 in the decade between the two census cycles.
The most common of these is paganism, with close to 74,000 residents in England and Wales. Paganism is the most common religion outside of the big six beliefs.
The survey also revealed that the populations of Leicester, Luton and Birmingham are now greater than 50% black and minority ethnic.
Kendall even questioned his own impact on the UK. He says he writes articles twice a year for Premier Christianity Magazine—the UK’s leading Christian magazine.
“I have had some input, but I don’t think it’s been very effective,” Kendall says. “The reason for that is that nobody is listening to me. I have a relationship with the Archbishop of Canterbury (Justin Welby). He’s a friend of mine.
“The charismatic movement is considered mainstream in Britain, but what good has it done? Very little, if any. It’s apparent that the charismatic church (in the UK) has become very soft on same-sex marriage. I pray that the church in Britain takes a stand and distances themselves from that. Right now, it just doesn’t seem like it can get any worse.” {eoa}
Bring Charisma magazine home with a subscription today!
Shawn A. Akers is the online editor for Charisma Media.
