About the project
British society has changed in many ways since the Second World War, and religious change is a major example.
There is much public discussion of such issues as how secular Britain really is, how religiously diverse, whether people see political and religious identities as conflicting, and how polarised religious views actually are.
Religious data is also important for public decision-making - by local authorities, central government and other public bodies. Religion may have a role in forming "social capital" and in building civic life. Religion may affect lifestyle and health, where people choose to live, and what opportunities are available to them.
To help answer such questions, quantitative data - from measures of observed or reported social phenomena - is critical. There is a great deal of historical and contemporary data available, but it hitherto been scattered, or difficult to access by many researchers. BRIN aims to enable access to religious data, by researchers of all backgrounds.
1. Database of religious data sources
We catalogue the full range of statistics on faith in Britain, in a searchable database:
- government data sources
- opinion polls
- faith community sources, such as accounts or yearbooks
- faith community contact details.
2. Visualisations of religious data
Here we host a selection of maps and charts, illustrating religion in present-day Britain and religious change over time.
3. Written guides to understanding religious data
Here we will provide written guides on how to use and interpret religious statistics - for example, comparing different religious categories, change over time, or understanding how the way that data is collected by government or organisations might affect the results. There is also a detailed history of British religious statistics, and an overview of the British religious landscape to put the evidence in context. Over time, additional Working Papers reporting quantitative research into religion in Britain will also be posted here.
About us
BRIN is hosted by the University of Manchester, at the Institute for Social Change. ISC examines the causes and consequences of social change, both within Britain and internationally. The project is sponsored by Religion and Society, a major research programme of the ESRC and AHRC.
The project is directed by Dr Clive Field OBE and Professor David Voas.
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Clive is Honorary Research Fellow in Modern History at the University of Birmingham. Until 2006, he was Director of Scholarship and Collections at the British Library. Clive conducted extensive research into historical statistics of British religion during the 1970s and 1980s. He co-edited the major directory Reviews of UK Statistical Sources: Religion (ESRC and RSS, 1987). This work is now being updated and extended, as the basis for BRIN. His other research interests are in:
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David is Simon Professor of Population Studies at the University of Manchester. A demographer by training, he has strong research interests in the study of religion, and the nature of religious change in modern societies. He also has methodological interests in national and international studies using census and survey data, in methods for measuring diversity (including religious diversity), and computer simulation techniques.
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Siobhan is Project Officer for BRIN, at the University of Manchester. An economic historian by training, she has research interests in religiosity and well-being, New Religious Movements, and in data reconversion.
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Sam is Data Interface Developer at the Centre for Census and Survey Research, University of Manchester. He serves as technical adviser to BRIN, among many social science infrastructural projects. |
Acknowledgements
The following have contributed to BRIN through providing research support, data entry services, and graphic design:
Joe Beech; Peter Blore; Elenora Haag; Hayley Limmer; Fiona McAndrew; Pradeep Sharma.
