Don't call me religious

Towards the end of March citizens in the UK will be taking part in the national census. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) describes this as "Taking a snapshot across the nation, on one day once a decade", suggesting that it "helps plan services across the whole of the UK.” Notwithstanding the fact that the Tory-led coalition is systematically undermining services across the whole of the UK, I believe the capture of good census data is important. It helps us, for example, understand the rich diversity within the UK and the complexities of the communities we live in. This, in turn, helps forward-thinking organisations identify those who should be receiving services and then to redesign services to reach them.

However, one question in particular risks giving a distorted view of life in the UK: the one on religious belief.

As in 2001 (the time of the last census), the question being asked in England and Wales is "What is your religion?" The first option to respond with is "No religion", followed by six religions and an "any other religion" option. In Scotland, the question is "What religion, religious denomination or body do you belong to?" The first option to respond with is "None", followed by three Christian denominations and a further five options.

These questions are flawed.

Their leading nature implies I have a religion, and frames the question as if everyone does have religious belief. The fact that the first response is "No religion" or "None" does not make sense in the context of the questions as they are posed.

The British Humanist Association (BHA) is leading a campaign against these questions (see http://census-campaign.org.uk/). Last year, the BHA presented the ONS with rational arguments against the question, proposing that the primary question should at least be along the lines of "Do you have a religion?" Interestingly, when the ONS itself had tested a version of this ("Do you regard yourself as belonging to a religion?") this decreased the number of people identified as religious, and increasing the proportion of non-religious people. Strangely, they used the fact that this question reduced the number of people identifying as following the Sikh religion (as it meant some identifying as Sikh, whether practising or not, no longer ticked the Sikh box) as a reason not to ask a more biased question!

In practice then, the question as asked leads those who consider they have an identity, though not necessarily a faith, to be counted as if they are practising believers. The Board of Deputies of British Jews is encouraging all Jews, practising or not, to tick the Jewish religion box, and I'm sure other faith organisations are encouraging their followers likewise.

So does it matter? Yes! Try this not altogether ludicrous parallel question that could conceivably be asked:

What animals do you abuse?
a) None
b) Horses
c) Sheep
d) Gerbils
e) Other

If you think the question makes an unfair implied assumption about you, despite giving you the option to say "None", then you should support the BSA campaign against the equally absurd religious questions being posed in England, Scotland and Wales.