FEWER people identify as Christian and more people are non-religious in Warrington than a decade ago, new census figures show.

Office for National Statistics data from the 2021 census shows that 57 per cent of people in Warrington selected Christianity as their religion, down significantly from 71 per cent in the last survey a decade before.

Around 35 per cent selected ‘no religion’ last year, demonstrating a leap from 20 per cent in 2011. Of these, 72 people said they were agnostic, while 45 selected atheism.

The figures show a rise in people in Warrington identifying as Muslim, with 3,686 selecting the religion last year, up from 2,097 in 2011.

Additionally, 1,495 residents said they were Hindu in the survey, up from 1,118 10 years ago.

There were 605 Buddhists and 190 residents who selected Judaism, while of the other options, 241 said they were pagans and 22 said they practice Heathenism.

The area follows trends across England and Wales, where 46 per cent of the population described themselves as Christian in the recent census, down from 59 per cent a decade earlier.

It is the first time the proportion has dropped below half, while the percentage of people saying they had no religion jumped from a quarter (25 per cent) in 2011 to over a third (37 per cent) last year.

On the data, Most Rev Stephen Cottrell said: “It is not a great surprise that the census shows fewer people identifying as Christian than in the past.

“But it still throws down a challenge to us not only to trust that God will build his kingdom on Earth, but also to play our part in making Christ known.”

Nationally, there were increases in the proportion of people describing themselves as Muslim, with 6.5 per cent selecting the religion last year, up from 4.9 per cent in the previous census.

More people also identified as Hindu, increasing from 1.5 per cent in 2011 to 1.7 per cent in 2021.