Religion, faith and belief in Brighton & Hove

A religion, faith or belief is the religion people connect or identify with (their religious affiliation), whether or not they practise or have belief in it.

This question was voluntary and the variable includes people who answered the question, including "No Religion", alongside those who chose not to answer this question. This variable classifies responses into the eight tick-box response options. Write-in responses are classified by their "parent" religious affiliation, including "No Religion", where applicable.

Summary of results

A total of 152,966 people (55%) in Brighton & Hove said they have no religious affiliation and 85,629 (31%) are affiliated with Christianity. Non-Christian religions are affiliated by 18,748 people (7%), where Muslims represented 3% of Brighton & Hove residents (8,500).

A greater percentage of the population of Brighton & Hove have no religious affiliation than England (37%) and the South East (40%), with a smaller percentage affiliated with Christianity (England and the South East – 46%). The number of people affiliated with non-Christian religions in the city is lower than England (11%) and similar to the South East (7%).

The number of people who have no religious affiliation in Brighton & Hove is increasing, at 55% in 2021 compared with 42% in 2011.

An opposing pattern is seen for Christianity, with 31% saying they are affiliated with Christianity in 2021 compared with 43% in 2011.

The same trend was seen in England and the South East, with fewer people affiliated with Christianity in 2021 compared with 2011 and more people of no religious affiliation. The number of people affiliated with non-Christian religions increased in 2021 (7% compared with 6% in 2011), a pattern which was also seen in England and the South East.

In Brighton & Hove:

• 55% of people said they have no religious affiliation
• 31% are Christian
• 3% are Muslim
• 1% are Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, or are affiliated with other religions not included in the census questionnaire
• 0.1% are Sikh

The question was not answered by 7% of residents.

Compared with England, the number of those who have no religious affiliation was higher (England, 37%), as was the number of residents who are Buddhist (0.5%), Jewish (0.5%) and those who practice “Other” religions (0.6%).

The number of residents who are Christian was lower (England, 46%), as was the number who are Hindu (2%), Muslim (7%) and Sikh (1%).

Compared with the South East, the number of residents who have no religious affiliation was also higher (South East, 40%), along with those who are Buddhist (0.6%), Jewish (0.2%) and who are affiliated with “Other” religions (0.6%).

The number of residents who are Christian was lower (South East, 47%), as was the number who are Hindu (2%) and Sikh (1%), with the number of Muslims similar in Brighton & Hove and the South East (both 3%).

Brighton & Hove has seen a significant decrease in the number of people who say they are Christian (27% decrease in the number of people from 2011 to 2021, 31,647 fewer people). There have been smaller decreases in the number of people who said they were Buddhist (10% decrease, 287 fewer people) and Jewish (8% decrease, 215 fewer people).

The largest increase was seen in the number of people who said they are Muslim (39% increase, 2,405 more people) and in those who have no religious affiliation (32% increase, 37,012 more people), with increases seen in the number of people who said they are Hindu (17% increase), Sikh (11% increase) and of “Other” religions (19% increase).

People from different religious groups are not living evenly across the city and are more concentrated in certain areas. See maps of the 2021 Census results.

Information from Census 2021, including different geographical levels, maps and 2011 census data is available at:

• Community Insight - for local census data
• Census 2021 - for national census data

Age and gender

There was little difference in religious affiliation between males and females, apart from:

• females (33%) were more likely to report they are Christian than males (28%)
• males (58%) were more likely to report they have no religious affiliation than females (53%).

People in Brighton & Hove who are 65 years of age or older were more likely to say they are Christian (60%) and less likely to have no religious affiliation (28%) than those in younger age groups.Younger people were more likely to say they are Muslim (5% in those up to 15 years of age) than older residents (1%).

Gender identity

People whose gender identity was different from their sex registered at birth were more likely to say they have no religious affiliation (67%) than people whose gender identity was the same as their sex registered at birth (56%). They were also were less likely to be Christian (14% and 33%, respectively). Trans people were also more likely to be affiliated with “other” religions (7%).

Sexual orientation

People who identified as LGBTQ+ were more likely to say they have no religious affiliation (72%) than the overall population (54%).

Ethnicity

There is variation in religion between ethnic groups in the city, with people of Black (57%), White non-British (39%) and other ethnicities (34%) more likely to say they are Christian than the overall population (31%). 

People of Asian ethnicity were more likely to say they are Hindu (14%), Sikh (2%) or Buddhist (6%) than the overall population (1%, 0%, 1%, respectively).

Asian (24%), Black (18%) and people from other ethnic groups (32%) were more likely to say they are Muslim. 

People of mixed ethnicity (57%) and those of White British ethnicity (61%) were more likely to say they have no religious affiliation than the overall population (55%).

Long-term health and disability

There was some variation by religion in those who reported that they are disabled under the equalities act definition (day-to-day activities limited a little or a lot), with those who reported their religion as “Other” (36%), Jewish (23%), Buddhist (22%) and Christian (21%) more likely to report their activities are limited than those who reported they are Muslim (12%), Sikh (12%) or Hindu (10%).

Veterans

Those who have served in the armed forces are more likely to be Christian (56%) than those who have not served (31%). They were also less likely to be of no religious affiliation (34%) than those who have not served (55%).

Migration

People who were born in the UK were more likely to have no religious affiliation (59%) than those who were born outside the UK (38%). 

Those born outside the UK were more likely to be Christian (37%) or Muslim (10%) than those who were born in the UK (29% and 1%, respectively).

Area of the city

People who have different religious affiliations are not evenly distributed across the city. 

The greatest percentage of the population affiliated with Christianity were in Rottingdean (42.9%), and the fewest in Hanover and Elm Grove (20.3%). 

There are greater numbers of:

• Hindu residents in Hove Park and Queen's Park (1.4%).
• Jewish residents in Hove Park (2.2%) and Westbourne (2.1%). 
• Muslim residents in Hangleton (5.7%) 
• residents with no religious affiliation in Hanover and Elm Grove (68.4%)