Fewer than half of the borough's residents now describe themselves as Christian while the number who have 'no religion' is surging.

Figures from the 2021 census show a very large shift in the religious affiliations of the population.

For example, the proportion who declare themselves to be Christian is now below half for the first time on record.

The proportion who put themselves in this category is 45.3%, which is down by 55.3% reported 10 years before in the 2011 census.

The figures would suggest some of the borough's churches will increasingly struggle to fill their pews, which has implications for their viability and even existence.

At the same time, the proportion of people in the borough who say they have no religion has surged over the past decade from 28.4% to 37.9%. At the same time, another 7.1% refused to answer this question.

Based on the current trajectories this group of non-believers will overtake Christians within the next five to 10 years.

Giles Fraser, the vicar at St Anne's, Kew, who is a well known media commentator, has highlighted the fact that parishes such as his own are already facing big annual losses.

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However, he has warned church leaders against resorting to gimmicks, but rather returning to a more serious approach.

Writing recently for unherd.com, he suggested those who have no religion are the ones who have most to worry about, saying: "Not believing in anything, which is the fastest growing position, has nothing to offer as a foundation for many of our moral concerns.

"Human rights, for instance, borrow substantially from a Christian worldview. When that worldview disappears from sight, secular culture will be walking on little but thin air."

Looking at other religious groups, there has been a small rise in the number of Muslims, which is up from 3.3% to 4.3%, while people declaring themselves as Hindu is up from 1.6% to 2.1%, Sikhs are up from 0.8% to 1%.

The number of Jewish people is down slightly from 0.8% to 0.6%, while the number of Buddhists remained unchanged at 0.8%.