Religion in Cheshire, and, in particular, Christianity, has a long history. In the 2001 census, however 1 in 5 people either were recorded as no religion or religion not stated.[1] The boundary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester currently follows most closely the pre-1974 county boundary of Cheshire, so it includes all of Wirral, most of Stockport, and the Cheshire panhandle, that included Tintwistle Rural District council area.[2] In terms of Roman Catholic church administration, the majority of Cheshire falls into the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury.[3] Cheshire still has a slightly higher proportion of Christians than the rest of the North West of England.[1]
There is an Islamic organisation in Cheshire called Islamic Forum Cheshire it is affiliated to the Muslim Council of Britain.[4]
In Cheshire there were number of Jewish congregations some of which were set up by World War II evacuees [5] the only remaining is Chester Hebrew Congregation.[6] In Cheshire there is also a Jewish Primary School called North Cheshire Jewish Primary School.[7]
There are a number of Buddhist centres in Cheshire, including Kagyu Buddhism Cheshire,[8] and Odiyana Buddhist Meditation Centre which provides classes in Buddhism throughout the county.[9]
In Warrington there is a Sikh Gurdwara called Guru Nanak Gurdwara Sikh Temple built by the Indian community in Cheshire.[10]
According to the 2001 Census, the religious group breakdown in Cheshire was:[1]
| Religion | Chester | Congleton | Crewe and Nantwich | Ellesmere Port and Neston | Macclesfield | Vale Royal | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian | 92,377 (78.1%) | 73,844 (81.5%) | 89,080 (80.2%) | 67,396 (82.5%) | 119,508 (79.6%) | 100,208 (82.1%) | 542,413 (80.5%) | |
| Buddhist | 236 (0.2%) | 107 (0.1%) | 151 (0.1%) | 108 (0.1%) | 292 (0.2%) | 200 (0.2%) | 1,091 (0.2%) | |
| Hindu | 206 (0.2%) | 97 (0.1%) | 129 (0.1%) | 65 (0.1%) | 391 (0.3%) | 123 (0.1%) | 1,010 (0.1%) | |
| Jewish | 132 (0.1%) | 52 (0.1%) | 48 (0.0%) | 40 (0.0%) | 459 (0.3%) | 52 (0.0%) | 798 (0.1%) | |
| Muslim | 630 (0.5%) | 154 (0.2%) | 459 (0.4%) | 212 (0.3%) | 767 (0.5%) | 211 (0.2%) | 2,433 (0.4%) | |
| Sikh | 65 (0.1%) | 34 (0.0%) | 46 (0.0%) | 27 (0.0%) | 86 (0.1%) | 73 (0.1%) | 333 (0.0%) | |
| All other religions | 197 (0.2%) | 141 (0.2%) | 165 (0.1%) | 62 (0.1%) | 283 (0.2%) | 176 (0.1%) | 1033 (0.2%) | |
| No religion | 15,342 (13.0%) | 10,389 (11.5%) | 13,222 (11.9%) | 8,340 (10.2%) | 19,146 (12.8%) | 13,315 (10.9%) | 79,754 (11.8%) | |
| Religion not stated | 9,024 (7.6%) | 5,828 (6.4%) | 7,707 (6.9%) | 5,407 (6.6%) | 9,225 (6.1%) | 7,732 (6.3%) | 44,923 (6.7%) |