Jain Spirit 2004 06 No 19

Author(s): Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 16

14 NEWS FEATURE
Outside The Box:
The Mystery of the
0
Any other White background, please write in
10 What is your religion? This question is voluntary,
one box only None Christian (including Church of England, Catholic, Protestant and all other Christian denominations) Budist
B 0
0
Mixed White and Black Caribbean White and Black African White and Asian Any other Mixed background, please write in
0
Muslim
L
Sikh
Any other religion, please write in
c
Asian or Asian tish Indian Paran Banglachi Any other Asian background,
In the 2001 Census for England and Wales, there was an optional question on religious affiliation for the first time in British history.
In the past, an individual's religious belief and practice has been considered a purely private affair - despite the existence (in England) of an established church with a highly public role. Today, however, the UK is a multifaith society. In London, Leicester, Bradford and a host of other major cities, religious pluralism truly prevails. Policy-makers, therefore, feel an increasing need to take account of the needs of different faith communities and the communities themselves are rising in confidence and political awareness. Politicians cultivate the Muslim, Sikh and Hindu votes, which can tip the balance in favour of one party or another.
All this is the rationale for the religious question on the Census form. But where do Jains fit in? Officially, they are counted as 'Other' along with Zoroastrians, Baha'is and other *minority' faiths. This meant that on the Census there was no specific box for Jains in England and Wales to tick. Instead, they could tick the box marked 'Other' and then optionally wrote in the word "Jain' beside it.
The figures have now been analysed and released by the Office of National Statistics in London www.statistics.gov.uk/census 2001 They show that the 'Other' was analysed as follows for Baha'is, Jains and Zoroastrians: Baha'i: 4,646; Jain: 15,132; Zoroastrian: 3,738.
In total, 150,000 people in England and Wales declared themselves (and
11 Over the last twelve months
would you say your health has on the whole been: D Good?
Fairly good? Not good?
se write in
D
Black or Black British Caribbean African
12 Do you look after, or give any