I am presuming that most Gurkhas are Hindu or Buddhist. Rather, regimental commanders appointed their own chaplains, and were responsible for their pay. An observer noted of a Prussian regiment at prayer: "you could imagine nothing more elevating than to see this band of heroes, who make provinces and kingdoms tremble, bow down before the Almighty. The generals, the officers, and the rank and file stand in a circle around the preacher, who makes his altar out of two drums, and they all pray to Lord with bowed heads. Table 2.13 of the 2009 edition of UK Defence Statistics contains the religious affiliation of the UK’s regular armed forces (trained and untrained, but excluding reservists and Gurkhas), and disaggregated by service, for 2007, 2008 and 2009. Whilst 69% of the Army, Navy and RAF regulars are Christian, the faith accounts for just over half of the general public (50.7%). [22], Many men of an earlier generation, such as Leopold von Anhalt Dessau, were rough Christian soldiers of a simple, childlike faith. 233480. Religious Affiliation by Birth Decade, 1900-9 to 1980-9, Attitudes towards the Disestablishment of the Church of England, Belief in Fortune-Telling and Horoscopes, 1951-2008, Belief in Ghosts and Communication with the Dead, Reincarnation, Near-Death Experiences, Out-of-Body Experiences, Belief in God, Divinity of Christ, and the Resurrection, Census 2001 Maps of Religious Affiliation, Christian and Secular Youth Organisation Membership, 1951-2011, Anglican Communion Members in Britain, 1877-1970, Annual British Church Membership, 1900-1970, Catholic Community, England & Wales, Scotland, 1887-1970, Census 1861-1971, Ireland and Northern Ireland, Church of England Baptisms, Confirmation, Sunday School, Religious and Civil Marriages in Britain, 1838-1972, Clergy, Members and Church Numbers by Religious Tradition, 2000-2006, Interactive Map of Religious Affiliation in England and Wales, 2001, Muslims’ Attitudes and Attitudes towards Muslims, Number of Registered Places of Worship (England and Wales), 1999-2009, Religious Affiliation and Political Attitudes 2010, Religious Statistics in Great Britain: An Historical Introduction, Counting Religion in Britain, August 2020, Perceptions of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party (4025), Perceptions of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party (4024), Anti-Semitism as an issue in the 2019 general election (4022), Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 England and Wales Licence. Would period soldiers have engaged in such debauchery? British army officers believed that religious thinking had led the colonies to war in the first place. At a reenactment last weekend, sitting around the camp fire, I heard a reenactor loudly proclaim that he would not go to church parade, (a military formation/church service held on Sunday mornings) regardless of what the practice was in the eighteenth century. Such an achievement is truly remarkable. Financial and economic statistics contacts. The diversity statistics are the latest two biannual publications, which also includes data on gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation and maternity. The corresponding 2001 population census figure for Great Britain was 15.1 per cent but has probably increased during the past nine years. 16th December 2018 at 4:42pm. With the caveat that religiosity and belief varied greatly from army to army, we can safely say that, The Armies of the Great Northern War: Sweden and Russia. The gap was even greater between the Future Reserves 2020 - a programme to strengthen the role of the reserves - and the general population, with more than 73% of reservists subscribed to Christianity. The proportion is greatest in the Naval Service (15.7 per cent) and smallest in the Army (9.4 per cent), with the Royal Air Force at 13.9 per cent in 2009. Of course, the two sets of data are not entirely compatible. User guide | Report about demographics | Report about beliefs and attitudes.