Interpreting the 2021 census data
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how the census asks about religion and what the results can and cannot tell us about religion in England and Wales.
Key learning points
- There are key differences regarding the religion data from the 2011 and 2021 census data.
- The census asks people a voluntary question, "What is your religion?".
- It can tell us important things about religion but we must interpet it carefully and ask questions about it as a source.
- There are reasons why people may not answer or answer the question in a particular way.
- Censuses have been used for thousands of years to find out population data, including around the time of Jesus.
Keywords
Census - an official count of a country’s population, usually including details like age, sex, and occupation
Voluntary - done by choice, without being forced
Multi-religious - involving or including people who follow different religions
Religious affiliation - a person's connection or association with a specific religion
Common misconception
The census tells us how many people follow a religion in England and Wales.
The census can only tell us what people ticked in the census. This may not be the reality.
Teacher tip
Take a look at your school's local area religion data using the Office for National Statistics website.
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Prior knowledge starter quiz
5 Questions
Q1.When did England become a predominantly Christian country?
Q2.Who is the head of the Church of England?
Q3.What is religion?
Q4.What does it mean if someone celebrates religious festivals but has no faith?
Q5.When did Muslims first come to Britain?
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.Match the key word to its correct meaning.
an official count of a population
done by choice, without being forced
including people who follow different religions
a person’s connection with a specific religion
Q2.97 of the population of England and Wales completed the 2021 census (around 57.7 million people).
Q3.A census is held every years in England and Wales.
Q4.Which of these religious groups increased in number between 2011 and 2021?
Q5.The census tells us how many people follow a religion in England and Wales.
To help you plan your 9 religious education lesson on: Interpreting the 2021 census data, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 religious education lesson on: Interpreting the 2021 census data, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 religious education lessons from the Census: How has the landscape of belief changed in Britain? unit, dive into the full secondary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.