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Laws and policies protect religious freedom and, in practice, the government

generally enforced these protections.

The government generally respected religious freedom in law and in practice.

There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom by the

government during the reporting period.

The U.S. government discusses religious freedom with the government as part of

its overall policy to promote human rights.

Section I. Religious Demography

The country has an area of 94,525 square miles and a population of 62.3 million.

Christians make up 72 percent of the population, including the Church of England,

Church of Scotland, the Roman Catholic Church, Protestant churches, and many

unaffiliated Christian groups. In 2003 the Office of National Statistics estimated 29

percent of the population identified with Anglicanism, 10 percent with the Catholic

Muslims constitute 3 percent of the population. The Muslim community is

predominantly individuals of South Asian origin, but other groups from the

Arabian Peninsula, Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Levant are represented. In

addition there is a growing number of indigenous converts. Groups composing

each 1 percent or less of the population include Hindus, Sikhs, Jews, and

Buddhists. Individuals of Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and Sikh backgrounds

are concentrated in London and other large urban areas, primarily in England.

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Attendance at religious services was significantly different from the number of

adherents. According to Christian Research's "Religious Trends" report released in

2008, four million Christians attend services on a regular basis (defined as at least

once a month). These figures do not include Northern Ireland, where higher

percentages reportedly attend both Catholic (more than 60 percent), and Protestant

(more than 35 percent) services. The report stated more than 50 percent of

Muslims regularly worship at mosques. Figures for Jews and other religious groups

were unavailable.

In Northern Ireland, where divisions between nationalists and unionists evolved

largely along religious lines, the 2001 census showed that 53.1 percent were

Protestant and 43.8 percent were Catholic. Many Catholics and Protestants

continue to live in religiously homogenous communities in Northern Ireland,

although numerous middle class neighborhoods are religiously mixed. The

government continued to promote religious tolerance.

In Bermuda nearly 20 different religious groups composed 125 congregations.

Anglicans are 23 percent of the population, while Roman Catholics and African

Please Refer to Appendix C in Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for the

status of the government's acceptance of international legal standards

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/appendices/index.htm.

Laws and policies protect religious freedom and, in practice, the government

generally enforced these protections. The 1998 Human Rights Act provides for

freedom of religion, and the 2006 and 2010 Equality Acts ban discrimination based

on religion.

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In Bermuda the constitution provides for freedom of religion, and other laws and

policies contributed to the generally free practice of religion.

There are two established (that is, state) churches--the Church of England

(Anglican) and the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian)--but Scotland, Wales, and

Northern Ireland do not have "official" religions. The 1921 Church of Scotland Act

reorganized the church as Scotland's national church based on a Presbyterian

system but not dependent on any government body or the queen for spiritual

matters or leadership.

into Scotland. The Church in Wales, the Scottish Episcopal Church, and the

Church of Ireland are members of the Anglican Communion.

The 1689 Bill of Rights and the 1701 Act of Settlement forbid any Catholic, or

person married to a Catholic, from becoming monarch. The monarch is the

"Supreme Governor" of the Church of England and must always be a member of

and promise to uphold the church. The previous government stated that the ban

needs to be reconsidered; however, the coalition government has yet to make its

position on the issue known.

England causes "religious disadvantage" to other religious communities. Twenty-

six senior bishops of the Anglican Church are given places in the House of Lords

as representatives of the official church. Besides this instance, however,

membership in a religious group does not confer a political or economic advantage

on individual adherents, except perhaps in the case of nonresidents of the country

who wish to marry in the country. The Home Office requires nonresidents wishing

to marry in the country to apply for a Certificate of Approval (COA) if they are not

going to marry in the Church of England. At least one lawsuit has been brought

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the substantial accompanying fee) is discriminatory. As a result, COA fees were

suspended in April 2009 and the exemption for nonresidents marrying in the

Church of England was declared unlawful by the High Court. At the end of the

reporting period, the time frame for the government to come into compliance with

the court ruling had not been determined.

The government includes other religious groups in national events; for example,

under the auspices of the Church of England, the queen supported invitations to

representatives of a broad range of religious groups to participate in the national

employed solely in private mediation upon the agreement of both parties.

The 1998 Human Rights Act includes article 9 of the Council of Europe's

Convention on Human Rights, providing the right to choose, to change, to practice,

and to discuss one's religion or belief.

Those who believe their freedom of religion has been infringed have the right to

appeal to the courts for relief.

Most religious institutions are classified as charities, since the advancement of

exempt status, confirming it was a not-for-profit entity and exempt from the value

added tax.

The law prohibits "incitement to religious hatred" and defines "religious hatred" as

hatred of a group that may be determined by reference to religious belief or lack of

religious belief. The law does not define religion or what constitutes a religious

belief but leaves that determination to the courts. Offenses under the law must be

threatening and intended to stir up religious hatred based on the following criteria:

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distributing written material; the public performance of a play; distributing,

showing, or playing a recording; broadcasting or including a program in a program

service; or the possession of written materials or recordings with a view to display,

publish, distribute, or include in a program service. The law does not apply to

words or behaviors expressed inside a private dwelling or to criticism or dislike of

a religious belief. The maximum penalty for stirring up religious hatred is seven

years in prison.

Those convicted of "religiously aggravated offenses" (where there is evidence of

In Northern Ireland religious discrimination in employment has been illegal since

1976 and discrimination in provision of goods and services since 1998. This, and

all other equality legislation, is supervised by the Equality Commission for

Northern Ireland, which has similar powers to those of the Equality and Human

Rights Commission (EHRC).

In Northern Ireland the Fair Employment Act bans employment discrimination on

the grounds of religious or political opinion. A broad network of laws, regulations,

and oversight bodies work to ensure there is equal opportunity for employees of all

the need to promote equality of opportunity, including on the basis of religious

belief. Each public authority must report its plans to promote equality to the

Equality Commission, which is to review such plans every five years. In the rest of

the country, the law prohibits employment discrimination based on religious belief,

except where there is a "genuine occupational requirement" of a religious nature.

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the 2006 Racial and Religious Hatred Act, which the CPS applies to

demonstrations where insulting and abusive language is used about religion.

Citing a limited broadcast spectrum, the government continued to prohibit religious

groups from holding a national sound broadcasting license, a public teletext

license, more than one television service license, and radio and television multiplex

licenses.

Following government-provided guidance on accommodating religious dress at

The law requires religious education for all children between the ages of three and

19 in publicly maintained schools. However, the shape and content of religious

instruction throughout the country is decided on a local basis. Locally agreed

syllabi are required to reflect the predominant place of Christianity while taking

into account the teachings and practices of other principal religious groups in the

country. Syllabi must be nondenominational and refrain from attempting to convert

pupils. Schools with a religious designation follow a syllabus drawn up by the

school governors according to the trust deed of the school. All parents have the

legal right to request that their children not participate in religious education.

action. This law does not exempt sixth form students from religious education

classes. Non-Christian worship is permitted with approval of the authorities.

Teachers have the right not to participate in collective worship, without prejudice,

unless they work for a faith based school. In 2009 the National Union of Teachers

called on the government to end the requirement for a collective act of worship, but

easing of the requirement had not occurred by the end of the reporting period.

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collective worship at public schools from being "distinctive of any particular

religious group." The law also provides for exceptions to the requirement that

pupils in public schools engage in collective worship at least once a week. It gives

parents the right to request that their children be excused from such worship and

authorizes such pupils to worship elsewhere at the beginning or end of the school

day. Home schooling is an approved alternative for religious or other reasons.

Jewish representatives claimed that bringing up children as Jews in a country

where Christian prayers are said in both public and most private schools is a

challenge.

government, with the exception of "faith schools." The government provides

financial support--up to 90 percent of capital costs and 100 percent of running

costs, including salaries--to sectarian schools. In addition several hundred

independent schools of a religious nature receive no state support but must meet

government quality standards. Controversy arose in 2006 regarding more than 100

Islamic schools when an Office of Standards in Education (Ofsted) evaluation of

these schools showed many were "little more than places where the Qur'an was

recited." The schools were given time to correct their deficiencies. The Daily

Telegraph reported that the reviews of a number of the schools carried out this year

were positive, despite having curricula that may not be "broad and balanced." In

Almost all schools in Northern Ireland receive state support. More than 90 percent

of students attended schools that were either predominantly Protestant (state-run)

or Catholic. Integrated schools served an estimated 7 percent of school-age

children whose families voluntarily chose this option, often after overcoming

significant obstacles to provide the resources to start a school and demonstrate its

sustainability for three years before government funding begins. Demand for

places in integrated schools outweighed the limited number available. There were

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petition to change from state-run or Catholic to integrated status. However, more

schools petition for that status than are granted it.

Immigration regulations require visa applicants who wish to enter the country as

"ministers of religion" (a legal term used for visas) to demonstrate a level-four

competence in spoken English on the International English Language Testing

System. Visa adjudicators are permitted to waive the testing requirement at their

discretion and where other evidence of English competency is provided for

applicants educated in an English speaking country. "Ministers of religion" are also

In 2008 the home secretary issued revised rules allowing exclusion of foreign

preachers who espouse hatred. The government can exclude individuals on the

grounds that they have engaged in unacceptable behavior, defined by the

government as using any means to express views that foster extremism or hatred.

Ministers of the Church of Scientology and the Unification Church are not issued

visas as ministers, since their organizations are not accepted as religious groups.

Adherents and those wishing to learn about either group may apply for visas as

visitors or students, respectively. There were no reports of specific visa denials

during the reporting period.

pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.

The law prohibits discrimination on the grounds of "religion or belief" or the "lack

of religion or belief" in the provision of goods, facilities and services, education,

the use and disposal of property, and the exercise of public functions. The EHRC

was established in 2006 and is responsible for promoting equality, diversity, and

working towards the elimination of unlawful discrimination and harassment. The

EHRC receives public funds but is independent of the government. The EHRC has

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proceedings against violators of the law. In October the new Equality Act came

into force, combining 116 separate pieces of legislation into one act and preserving

the EHRC. In Scotland the EHRC covers only human rights matters reserved for

parliament and major government ministries. Human rights for matters "devolved"

to the Scottish parliament are covered by the Scottish Human Rights Commission.

The Equality Act allows the EHRC to cover devolved matters if it has the

agreement of the Scottish commission.

It is government policy to assure that public servants are not discriminated against

faith.

Restrictions on Religious Freedom

The government generally respected religious freedom in law and in practice.

There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom by the

government during the reporting period.

As in previous years, Christian groups stated they had been subjected to more

stringent application of rules restricting religion in the public sphere. There was

legislation in July. The Muslim community and human rights activists also

criticized the 28-day detention powers for terrorism suspects, which in June the

government extended for six months while it reviewed counter-terrorism

legislation.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) continued to work closely

with Muslim groups to address concerns about the way police treated Muslims.