Today is Census Day, a Government survey that happens every ten years to give the Office for National Statistics the most accurate estimate of all the people and households in England and Wales.
The Census has been carried out every decade since 1801, with the exception of 1941. Completing our Census today reminds us that a decade ago, according to Census data, the Isle of Wight was home to a whopping 766 Jedi Knights.
2011 Census data
Back in 2016, News OnTheWight took at look at the huge variety of faiths that those on the Isle of Wight had declared on their Census forms in 2011.
As well as the 766 Jedi Knights, we found:
- 13 Heathens
- 16 Rastafarians
- 5 Satanists
- 1 Reconstructionist
- 6 Shamanists
- 2 Witchcraft
- 40 Wiccans
- 2 Zoroastrians
- 17 Heavy Metal
- 4 Free Thinkers
- 0 Realists
Popular religions – no surprise
The stats for popular religions will be of no surprise:
- 83,671 Christians
- 459 Buddhists
- 312 Hindus
- 124 Jews
- 524 Islamic Muslims
- 45 Sikhs
40,950 describe themselves as having no religion.
Here’s the full list
| Religion | Number |
|---|---|
| Realist | 0 |
| Animism | 1 |
| Mysticism | 1 |
| Native American Church | 1 |
| Reconstructionist | 1 |
| Traditional African Religion | 1 |
| New Age | 2 |
| Scientology | 2 |
| Witchcraft | 2 |
| Zoroastrian | 2 |
| Church of All Religion | 3 |
| Taoist | 3 |
| Free Thinker | 4 |
| Shintoism | 4 |
| Theism | 4 |
| Universalist | 4 |
| Satanism | 5 |
| Deist | 6 |
| Shamanism | 6 |
| Own Belief System | 7 |
| Believe in God | 8 |
| Pantheism | 8 |
| Baha’i | 11 |
| Heathen | 13 |
| Rastafarian | 16 |
| Heavy Metal | 17 |
| Druid | 25 |
| Other religions | 40 |
| Wicca | 40 |
| Sikh | 45 |
| Humanist | 49 |
| Spiritual | 55 |
| Atheist | 68 |
| Mixed Religion | 78 |
| Agnostic | 86 |
| Jewish | 124 |
| Spiritualist | 216 |
| Hindu | 312 |
| Pagan | 340 |
| Buddhist | 459 |
| Muslim (Islam) | 524 |
| Jedi Knight | 766 |
| Religion not stated | 11,275 |
| Christian | 83,671 |
Completing the Census
This year, the Census has gone online. Every household should have received a letter with details of how to access the online survey. Some residents will have requested paper versions.
The census should be completed today, or as soon after as possible. If you are having problems completing it, People Matter IW is helping local people without Internet access or digital skills to complete their Census questionnaire.
Image: Stephanie Klepacki under CC BY 2.0
