Much more than a negation of religion: a qualitative exploration of the diversity of non-religious identities in England and Wales

ABSTRACT

Census data for 2011 suggested that around 14.1 million people in England and Wales state that they have no religion and recent survey evidence suggests that the number could be even higher. Drawing on evidence from focus group discussions with people who broadly self-identify with the descriptor ‘non-religious’, this article examines the diversity of non-religious identities and the interfaces with religion and equalities law. Through analysis of the identity narratives of people who see themselves as non-religious, the findings indicate that people use various conceptualisations of non-religion, belief, and spirituality to describe their identities. Moreover, non-religious people also reported experiences of unfair treatment and discrimination due to their identities. The term ‘non-religious’ can be problematic; it can be homogenising and limit people to identifying themselves in terms of the negation of religion. The findings highlight different non-religious identities and thus bring into question the conceptions, both popular and official, of the category ‘non-religious’ and the wider discourse of non-religion. It can be questioned whether the negative label of being non-religious is fit for purpose. There is a need for a new vocabulary to articulate, describe, and understand non-religious identities and experiences.

KEYWORDS:

• Belief
• identity
• no religion
• non-religious
• religion
• secularism

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the focus group participants for contributing to this research and sharing their views and experiences.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. In this article, the terms ‘no religion’ and ‘non-religious’ are used. They are commonly used in public and official discourses. The terminological issues are at the centre of the research reported in this article.

2. By ‘new world order’ the participant was referring to alternative and ‘new age’ spiritualities that are not formally linked to religion.

3. For related research in this area, see Langston, Hammer, and Cragun 2015 and Ursic 2014.

4. In 2017, the actor Stephen Fry was accused of blasphemy in the Republic of Ireland for criticising God, but the police dropped the case. In a subsequent referendum, the country voted to remove the blasphemy offence from the constitution (see BBC News, 6 May 2017 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39830447, accessed 8 December 2018; BBC News, 28 October 2018, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46010077, accessed 3 January 2019).

5. Further discussion can be found in Sumerau and Cragun 2016, Ursic 2014, and Zimmerman et al. 2015.

Additional information

Funding

The focus group interviews reported in this article were part of a research project that was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) through the Religion and Society research programme (AH/H016074/1).

Notes on contributors

Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor

Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor is Associate Professor in the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations at Coventry University, UK. She is a feminist sociologist of religion who has published on women and Islam, inter-religious relations, and British Muslim Studies. Her research has been funded by academic funders (e.g. AHRC, ESRC, British Academy) and policy makers (e.g. Home Office, Department for Education). Publications include Religion or Belief, Discrimination and Equality: Britain in Global Contexts (2013), Islamic Education in Britain: New Pluralist Paradigms (2015), and Islam on Campus: Contested Identities and the Cultures of Higher Education in Britain (2020).

CORRESPONDENCE: Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor, Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations, Coventry University, Coventry CV1 2TL, UK.

Kingsley Purdam

Kingsley Purdam is a Reader in social research methods and statistics at the University of Manchester, UK. He is an expert in rights, equality, and research with hard-to-reach groups. He has experience in conducting social research for government departments and charities (e.g. Save the Children, Crisis, The Big Issue). His research has been cited in the House of Lords and featured widely in the media. He has published research in a number of leading academic journals and the general media (e.g. The Independent, The Conversation, Times Higher Educational Supplement).

Paul Weller

Paul Weller is Professor in the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations at Coventry University, Research Fellow in Religion and Society at Regent’s Park College and Associate Member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Oxford, and Emeritus Professor, University of Derby, UK. He has published widely on the relationships between religion and belief, freedom and equality, and state and society and conducted research for e.g. the Home Office, Equality and Human Rights Commission, and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).