England and Wales are now amongst the least religious countries in the world. According to Census data between 2011 and 2021, the number of people identifying as having ‘No Religion’ jumped by over 8 million, from 25% to 37%. Further, although there was a small upward shift in those identifying with minority religions, during the same period, the number of people identifying as Christian dropped by 5.5 million to 46.2% of the population. Wales is particularly irreligious. Here, 47% ticked ‘No Religion’ compared to 44% ‘Christian’. But even in Northern Ireland, where the majority still identify with a Christian denomination, the non-religious population has nearly doubled (from 10 to 17%) in the last decade. This surge in the non-religious will (and ought to) affect policy in a wide range of areas, but it is likely to be most profoundly felt in education; be that via reforms designed to better accommodate non-religious learners or attempts to reverse what is seen as a threatening trend by some religious groups and organisations. In this paper I explore the implications of this rapid demographic shift on religious education (RE). I argue that, while some may view the growth of the non-religious as a ‘death knell’ signalling the subject’s impending demise, it actually presents an unparalleled opportunity for revitalisation.

英格兰和威尔士现在是世界上宗教最少的国家之一。根据 2011 年至 2021 年的人口普查数据，被认定为“无宗教信仰”的人数增加了超过 800 万，从 25% 增加到 37%。此外，尽管认同少数宗教的人数略有上升，但同一时期，认同基督教的人数却下降了 550 万人，占总人口的 46.2%。威尔士尤其不信教。在这里，47% 的人选择“无宗教信仰”，而 44% 的人选择“基督教”。但即使在大多数人仍认同基督教教派的北爱尔兰，非宗教人口在过去十年也几乎翻了一番（从 10% 增至 17%）。非宗教人数的激增将会（并且应该）影响广泛领域的政策，但对教育的影响可能最为深刻；要么通过旨在更好地适应非宗教学习者的改革，要么试图扭转一些宗教团体和组织视为威胁的趋势。在本文中，我探讨了人口的快速变化对宗教教育 (RE) 的影响。我认为，虽然有些人可能将非宗教的增长视为“丧钟”，预示着该主题即将消亡，但它实际上提供了无与伦比的复兴机会。