Religion in Wales - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

is the largest religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. Until 1920 the established church was Anglican

Anglicanism

Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...

, although Wales has a strong tradition of nonconformism

Nonconformism

Nonconformity is the refusal to "conform" to, or follow, the governance and usages of the Church of England by the Protestant Christians of England and Wales.- Origins and use:...

and Methodism

Methodism

Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...

.

Most adherents to organised religion in Wales follow the Church in Wales

Church in Wales

The Church in Wales is the Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses.As with the primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Archbishop of Wales serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The current archbishop is Barry Morgan, the Bishop of Llandaff.In contrast to the...

or other Christian denomination

Christian denomination

A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...

s such as the Presbyterian Church of Wales

Presbyterian Church of Wales

The Presbyterian Church of Wales , also known as The Calvinistic Methodist Church , is a denomination of Protestant Christianity. It was born out of the Welsh Methodist revival and the preaching of Hywel Harris Howell Harris in the 18th century and seceded from the Church of England in 1811...

, Catholicism

Catholicism

Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....

, Baptist

Baptist Union of Wales

The Baptist Union of Wales is a fellowship of Baptist churches in Wales.-History:The General Baptist minister Hugh Evans was one of the first Baptists to preach in Wales around 1646, in the parishes of Llan-hir, Cefnllys, Nantmel and Llanddewi Ystradenny, as well as in districts across the upper...

and Congregational

Congregational church

Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....

churches, and Eastern Orthodoxy. Other religions Welsh people may be affiliated with include Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

, Hinduism

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

, Judaism

Judaism

Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

, Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

, Sikhism

Sikhism

Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing...

and Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...

, with most non-Christian Welsh people found in Cardiff

Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

Roman origins

Christianity arrived in Wales

Roman Wales

The history of Wales in the Roman era began in AD 48 with a military invasion by the imperial governor of Roman Britain. The conquest would be completed by 78, and Roman rule would endure until the region was abandoned in 383 AD...

during the Roman

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

occupation, but was initially suppressed. The first Christian martyr

Martyr

A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...

s in Wales, Julius and Aaron

Julius and Aaron

Saints Julius and Aaron are celebrated as two British martyrs who died during the religious persecutions of the Emperor Diocletian in AD 304. Their feast day was traditionally celebrated on July 1....

, were killed at Isca Augusta
Isca Augusta
Isca Augusta was a Roman legionary fortress and settlement, the remains of which lie beneath parts of the present-day village of Caerleon on the northern outskirts of the city of Newport in South Wales.-Name:...

(Caerleon

Caerleon

Caerleon is a suburban village and community, situated on the River Usk in the northern outskirts of the city of Newport, South Wales. Caerleon is a site of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman legionary fortress, Isca Augusta, and an Iron Age hill fort...

) in south Wales in about 304 AD. The earliest Christian object found in Wales is a vessel with a Chi-Rho symbol found at the nearby town of Venta Silurum
Venta Silurum
Venta Silurum was a town in the Roman province of Britannia or Britain. Today it consists of remains in the village of Caerwent in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. Much of it has been archaeologically excavated and is on display to the public....

(Caerwent

Caerwent

Caerwent is a village and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located about five miles west of Chepstow and eleven miles east of Newport, and was founded by the Romans as the market town of Venta Silurum, an important settlement of the Brythonic Silures tribe. The modern village is built...

). By the end of the 4th century Christianity became the sole official religion of the Roman Empire.

Roman withdrawal

As the Roman legion

Roman legion

A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...

s garrisoned in Wales

Roman Wales

withdrew in the early 5th century, invading tribes including the Angles

Angles

The Angles is a modern English term for a Germanic people who took their name from the ancestral cultural region of Angeln, a district located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany...

and Saxons

Saxons

The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...

, who later became the Anglo-Saxon

Anglo-Saxon

Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...

English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

, were unable to make inroads except possibly along the Severn Valley

Severn Valley

Severn Valley could be*The Severn Valley in Shropshire, English Midlands *The Severn Valley Country Park in Shropshire, English Midlands *The fictional Severn Valley...

as far as Llanidloes

Llanidloes

Llanidloes is a town along the A470 road and B4518 road in Powys, within the historic county boundaries of Montgomeryshire , Mid Wales.It is the first town on the River Severn...

. However they gradually conquered eastern and southern Britain (which then became England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

), thus leaving Wales cut off from her Celtic relations in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

and Cumbria

Cumbria

Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...

. The writer Gildas

Gildas

Gildas was a 6th-century British cleric. He is one of the best-documented figures of the Christian church in the British Isles during this period. His renowned learning and literary style earned him the designation Gildas Sapiens...

drew sharp contrasts between the Christian Welsh at this time and the pagan Anglo-Saxon invaders.

Age of the Saints

The "age of the saints" (approximately 500–700 AD) was marked by the establishment of monastic settlements throughout the country, by religious leaders such as Saint David

Saint David

Saint David was a Welsh Bishop during the 6th century; he was later regarded as a saint and as the patron saint of Wales. David was a native of Wales, and a relatively large amount of information is known about his life. However, his birth date is still uncertain, as suggestions range from 462 to...

, Illtud

Illtud

Illtyd , was a Welsh saint, founder and abbot of Llanilltud Fawr in the Welsh county of Glamorgan...

and Teilo. This was the period when the Welsh

Welsh people

The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...

developed a shared national identity, arising from their language

Welsh language

Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...

and religious beliefs.

Roman Catholicism

The Welsh refused to co-operate with Augustine of Canterbury

Augustine of Canterbury

Augustine of Canterbury was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597...

's mission to the Anglo-Saxons. However, a combination of Celtic Christianity

Celtic Christianity

Celtic Christianity or Insular Christianity refers broadly to certain features of Christianity that were common, or held to be common, across the Celtic-speaking world during the Early Middle Ages...

's reconciliation with Rome and English conquest of Wales meant that from the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

until 1920, the Welsh dioceses were part of the Province of Canterbury

Province of Canterbury

The Province of Canterbury, also called the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces making up the Church of England...

-- in communion with the See of Rome until the Reformation

English Reformation

The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....

Anglicanism

This participation in the Province of Canterbury

Province of Canterbury

The Province of Canterbury, also called the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces making up the Church of England...

continued afterwards as part of the Church of England. From the time of Henry VIII

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

, Wales had been absorbed into England as a legal entity and the Established Church in Wales was the Church of England.

Although some of the scriptures and a number of apocryphal books had been translated in the Middle Ages, the first translation of the modern Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

into Welsh

Welsh language

Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...

was the New Testament

New Testament

The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....

translation of William Salesbury

William Salesbury

William Salesbury also Salusbury was the leading Welsh scholar of the Renaissance and the principal translator of the 1567 Welsh New Testament.Salesbury was born in about 1520 in the parish of Llansannan, Conwy...

in 1567, closely followed by William Morgan's

William Morgan (Bible translator)

William Morgan was Bishop of Llandaff and of St Asaph, and the translator of the first version of the whole Bible into Welsh from Greek and Hebrew.-Life:...

translation of the whole Bible in 1588. The translation of the Bible into Welsh was important to the survival of the Welsh language, the native tongue of the vast majority of the Welsh, which had effectively been banned from official use by the Acts of Union (1536-43). It had the effect, along with the Welsh translation of the Book of Common Prayer

Book of Common Prayer

The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...

, of conferring status on Welsh as a liturgical language and vehicle for worship. This had a significant role in its continued use as a means of everyday communication and as a literary language down to the present day despite the pressure of English.

Methodism and Nonconformity

The Welsh Methodist revival

Welsh Methodist revival

The Welsh Methodist revival was an evangelical revival that revitalised Christianity in Wales during the 18th century. Methodist preachers such as Griffith Jones, William Williams and Howell Harris were such powerful speakers that they converted thousands of people back to the church...

of the 18th century was one of the most significant religious and social movements in the history of Wales. The revival began within the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

in Wales and at the beginning remained as a group within it, but the Welsh revival differed from the Methodist revival in England in that its theology was Calvinist

Calvinism

Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...

rather than Arminian

Arminianism

Arminianism is a school of soteriological thought within Protestant Christianity based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic followers, the Remonstrants...

. Welsh Methodists gradually built up their own networks, structures, and even meeting houses (or chapels), which led eventually to the secession of 1811 and the formal establishment of the Calvinistic Methodist Presbyterian church of Wales

Presbyterian Church of Wales

in 1823.

The Welsh Methodist revival also had an influence on the older nonconformist churches, or dissenter

Dissenter

The term dissenter , labels one who disagrees in matters of opinion, belief, etc. In the social and religious history of England and Wales, however, it refers particularly to a member of a religious body who has, for one reason or another, separated from the Established Church.Originally, the term...

s — the Baptists and the Congregationalists — who in turn also experienced growth and renewal. As a result, by the middle of the nineteenth century, Wales was a predominantly a nonconformist country.

Welsh Revival

The 1904-1905 Welsh Revival

1904-1905 Welsh Revival

The Welsh Revival was the largest Christian revival in Wales during the 20th century. While by no means the best known of revivals, it was one of the most dramatic in terms of its effect on the population, and it had repercussions that reached far beyond the Welsh border, triggering a series of...

was the largest full scale Christian Revival of Wales of the 20th century. It is believed that at least 100,000 people became Christians during the 1904–1905 revival, but despite this it did not put a stop to the gradual decline of Christianity in Wales, only holding it back slightly.

Disestablishment

The Welsh Church Act 1914

Welsh Church Act 1914

The Welsh Church Act 1914 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom under which the Welsh part of the Church of England was separated and disestablished, leading to the creation of the Church in Wales...

provided for the separation of the four dioceses of the Church of England

Church of England

located in Wales (known collectively as the Church in Wales

Church in Wales

) from the rest of the Church, and for the simultaneous disestablishment of the Church. The Act came into operation in 1920. Since then there has been no established church in Wales. In 2008, the Anglican Church in Wales narrowly rejected a proposal to allow women to become bishops.

Sabbatarianism

The Sabbatarian temperance movement

Temperance movement

A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...

was historically strong among the Welsh, the sale of alcohol being prohibited on Sundays in Wales by the Sunday Closing Act
Sunday Closing (Wales) Act 1881
The Sunday Closing Act 1881 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It required the closure of all public houses in Wales on Sundays. The Act had considerable political importance as a formal acknowledgement of the separate character of Wales, setting a precedent for future...

of 1881 – the first legislation specifically issued for Wales since the Middle Ages. From the early 1960s, local council areas were permitted to hold referendum

Referendum

A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...

s every seven years to determine whether they should be "wet" or "dry" on Sundays: most of the industrialised areas in the east and south went "wet" immediately, and by the 1980s the last district, Dwyfor in the northwest, went wet, since then there have been no more Sunday-closing referendums.

Saints

Saint David

is the patron saint

Patron saint

A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...

of Wales.

Wales is particularly noted for naming places

Welsh placenames

The placenames of Wales derive in most cases from the Welsh language, but have also been influenced by linguistic contact with the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Anglo-Normans and modern English...

after either local or well-known saint

Saint

A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...

s - all places beginning in Llan e.g. Llanbedr - St Peter (Pedr); Llanfair - St Mary (Mair); Llanfihangel - St Michael

St Michael

St Michael was a brand that was owned and used by Marks & Spencer from 1928 until 2000.-History:The brand was introduced by Simon Marks in 1928, after his father and co-founder of Marks & Spencer, Michael Marks. By 1950, virtually all goods were sold under the St Michael brand...

(Mihangel); Llanarmon - St. Garmon. Because of the relatively small number of saints' names used, places names are often suffixed by their locality e.g. Llanfihangel Glyn Myfyr, Llanfihangel y Creuddyn

Llanfihangel y Creuddyn

Llanfihangel-y-Creuddyn, |hundred]] of Ilar, Ceredigion, West Wales, 7 miles south east from Aberystwyth, on the road to Rhayader, comprising the chapelry of Eglwys Newydd, or Llanfihangel y Creuddyn Uchaf, and the township of Llanfihangel y Creuddyn Isaf. It was also known as Lower Llanfihangel y...

, Llanfihangel-y-Pennant.

Islam

The largest non-Christian faith in Wales is Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

, with about 22,000 members in 2001 served by about 40 mosques.

The first Muslim community which permanently settled in Wales consisted of Yemen

Yemen

The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....

i sailors who arrived in ports such as Swansea

Swansea

Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...

shortly after 1900. The first mosque in Britain is recorded as having been at 2 Glyn Rhondda Street, Cardiff

Cardiff

, in 1860.

In Wales most Muslims live in Cardiff (11,261, 3.7% of the population), but there are also significant numbers in Newport

Newport

Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...

(3,492) and Swansea

Swansea

(2,167).

Judaism

Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

has quite a long history in Wales, with a Jewish community recorded in Swansea

Swansea

from around 1730. In August 1911, during a period of public order and industrial disputes, Jewish shops across the South Wales coalfield

South Wales Coalfield

The South Wales Coalfield is a large region of south Wales that is rich with coal deposits, especially the South Wales Valleys.-The coalfield area:...

were damaged by mobs. Since that time the Jewish population of that area, which reached a peak of 4,000–5,000 in 1913, has declined with only Cardiff retaining a sizeable Jewish population, of about 2,000 in the 2001 census.

Other faiths

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

and Buddhism

Buddhism

each have about 5,000 adherents in Wales, with the rural county of Ceredigion

Ceredigion

Ceredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later...

being the centre of Welsh Buddhism. Govinda

Govinda

' and ' are names of Krishna, referring to his youthful occupation as a cowherd. He is regarded as the Supreme Godhead in the Vaishnava tradition and also by much of the pan-Hindu tradition...

's temple & restaurant, run by the Hare Krishna

International Society for Krishna Consciousness

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness , known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava religious organization. It was founded in 1966 in New York City by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada...

s in Swansea

Swansea

, is a focal point for many Welsh Hindus. There are about 2000 Sikh

Sikh

A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...

s in Wales, with the first purpose-built gurdwara

Gurdwara

A Gurdwara , meaning the Gateway to the Guru, is the place of worship for Sikhs, the followers of Sikhism. A Gurdwara can be identified from a distance by tall flagpoles bearing the Nishan Sahib ....

opened in the Riverside

Riverside, Cardiff

Riverside is an inner-city southern area of Cardiff, capital of Wales. Riverside is also the name of the electoral ward, which can be split into two very different parts, Riverside and Pontcanna...

area of Cardiff in 1989. In 2001 some 7,000 people classified themselves as following "other religions" including a reconstructed form of Druidism, which was the pre-Christian religion of Wales (not to be confused with the Druids of the Gorsedd

Gorsedd

A gorsedd plural gorseddau, is a community or coming together of modern-day bards. The word is of Welsh origin, meaning "throne". It is occasionally spelled gorsedh , or goursez in Brittany....

at the National Eisteddfod of Wales

National Eisteddfod of Wales

The National Eisteddfod of Wales is the most important of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales.- Organisation :...

Irreligion

Approximately one-sixth of the population, some 500,000 people, profess no religious faith.

Statistics

The Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

(Eglwys Gatholig Rufeinig) and the Church in Wales

Church in Wales

(Eglwys yng Nghymru) are the two largest churches in Wales, both of which have less than 5% of the population as members. The next largest religious society is the Presbyterian Church of Wales

Presbyterian Church of Wales

(Eglwys Bresbyteraidd Cymru) with 34,819 (2004) members (slightly more than 1% of the population), followed by the Union of Welsh Independents (Undeb yr Annibynwyr Cymraeg) and the Baptist Union of Wales

Baptist Union of Wales

(Undeb Bedyddwyr Cymru) which each have about 1% of the population as members.

The 2001 census showed that slightly less than 10% of the Welsh population are regular church- or chapel-goers (a slightly smaller proportion than in England or Scotland), although about 70% of the population see themselves as Christian in some way.

Religions in Wales, 2001

Religion	Number	%
Christianity Christianity Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...	2,087,242	71.9
No religion Irreligion Irreligion is defined as an absence of religion or an indifference towards religion. Sometimes it may also be defined more narrowly as hostility towards religion. When characterized as hostility to religion, it includes antitheism, anticlericalism and antireligion. When characterized as...	537,935	18.5
Islam Islam Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...	21,739	0.7
Hinduism Hinduism Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...	5,439	0.2
Sikhism Sikhism Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing...	2,015	0.1
Judaism Judaism Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...	2,256	0.1
Buddhism Buddhism Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...	5,407	0.2
Any other religion	6,909	0.2
Religion not stated	234,143	8.1

Source: UK 2001 Census

United Kingdom Census 2001

A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....

Notable places of worship

Bangor Cathedral
Bangor Cathedral
Bangor Cathedral is an ancient place of Christian worship situated in Bangor, Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It is dedicated to its founder, Saint Deiniol....

- Church in Wales
Brecon Cathedral
Brecon Cathedral
Brecon Cathedral, in the town of Brecon, is the Cathedral of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon in the Church in Wales, and seat of the Bishop of Swansea and Brecon...

- Church in Wales
Cardiff Cathedral
Cardiff Cathedral
The Metropolitan Cathedral Church of St David, also known as St David's Cathedral Cardiff is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales and is the centre of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cardiff. Located in Charles Street, the Cathedral remains the focal point for Catholic...

- Roman Catholic Church
Llandaff Cathedral
Llandaff Cathedral
Llandaff Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, head of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. It is situated in the district of Llandaff in the city of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The current building was constructed in the 12th century over the site of an earlier church...

- Church in Wales
Newport Cathedral
Newport Cathedral
Newport Cathedral in the city of Newport in South Wales is the cathedral of the Diocese of Monmouth, in the Church in Wales, and seat of the Bishop of Monmouth. The full title is Newport Cathedral, Woolos, King & Confessor...

- Church in Wales
St Asaph Cathedral
St Asaph Cathedral
St Asaph Cathedral is the Anglican cathedral in St Asaph, Denbighshire, north Wales. It is sometimes claimed to be the smallest Anglican cathedral in Britain.- History :...

- Church in Wales
St David's Cathedral
St David's Cathedral
St David's Cathedral is situated in St David's in the county of Pembrokeshire, on the most westerly point of Wales.-Early history:The monastic community was founded by Saint David, Abbot of Menevia, who died in AD589...

- Church in Wales
St Joseph's Cathedral - Roman Catholic Church

Roman origins

Roman withdrawal

Age of the Saints

Roman Catholicism

Anglicanism

Methodism and Nonconformity

Welsh Revival

Disestablishment

Sabbatarianism

Saints

Islam

Judaism

Other faiths

Irreligion

Statistics

Religions in Wales, 2001

Notable places of worship

See also