LEICESTER SECULAR SOCIETY URGES NON-BELIEVERS TO MAKE MARK ON CENSUS

As the 2011 Census approaches, more entries will appear in this blog about the religious dimension. The following article is published in today's Leicester Mercury.

Leicester Secular Society urges non-believers to make mark on census 

By Laura Elvin

People who claim to be Christian when they do not practise the religion are creating a "misleading" picture of Britain, it has been claimed.

Leicester Secular Society is calling for non-believers to tick the 'no religion' box on this year's census.

The society says that during the 2001 census, many people felt compelled to answer 'Christian' when it came to their religious belief, either out of habit or because they felt they ought to.

But it says that doing so leads to inaccurate figures, which are then used to justify policies that "do not reflect the real demographics of our society".

Emma Chung is the new president of the society, which calls for the separation of church and the state.

She said: "The last census disproportionately shows Christians as the majority but we actually think it is much, much lower."

"We want people to think before they answer the question, and make sure they are not ticking 'Christian' just out of habit, or because they feel they should.

"People might tick it because they associate being Christian with being moral, but actually they don't go to church and don't believe in God."

She added: "Misleading statistics are used to support policies that entrench religious privilege and increase discrimination on grounds of religion in our society. Which box you tick on the census form may seem trivial, but the results do make a difference to public policy.

"For example, a tick in the 'Christian' box rather than the 'No religion' box will contribute to data used to justify an increase in the number of 'faith' schools, the public funding of religious groups and the continuation of compulsory worship in schools.

"It is used to justify these and a whole host of other such policies that are damaging, divisive and, importantly, do not reflect the real demographics of our society."

The society is raising £1,000 to pay for posters to raise awareness of its campaign, called For God's Sake Say No, that will appear on buses in Leicester.

Canon Barry Naylor, urban canon at Leicester Cathedral, said he supported the call, but added it was "nonsense" that people felt pressurised into ticking 'Christian' on census forms.

He said: "If people take the census seriously, I would hope they would tick the Christian box if they are a Christian and the no religion box if they aren't religious.

"Part of participating in a democratic society is having a true picture of what people believe.

"The idea that people tick Christian because they feel they should, however, is a load of nonsense.

"That may be the case if they had someone looking over their shoulder, or maybe years and years ago, but not now.

"Also, I think that the idea that someone is not Christian because they don't come to church is not right either.

"Just because they only come at Easter and Christmas does not invalidate the fact they are Christian."

Malik Salim, chairman of Leicester's Islamic Centre, in Conduit Street, in the city centre, said: "We are of the view that everybody has a right to be able to speak publicly about their view or religion.

"We equally respect believers and non-believers. We are quite happy that people express their views."

The census begins on March 27.