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The “Religion” Question in B ritish Colonial and Commonwealth Censuses 1820s–2010s
Author(s) -
Christopher Anthony J.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of religious history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.117
H-Index - 13
eISSN - 1467-9809
pISSN - 0022-4227
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9809.12107
Subject(s) - commonwealth , census , colonialism , independence (probability theory) , government (linguistics) , bureaucracy , population , abandonment (legal) , empire , genealogy , law , political science , sociology , geography , history , politics , demography , linguistics , statistics , philosophy , mathematics
Questions on “religion” in national censuses have had a long and complex history. In this article, the experiences of the B ritish colonies and the subsequent C ommonwealth countries in the conduct of census enquiries into religion are explored. Although the B ritish government issued general instructions for the guidance of population censuses in the colonial empire, little clear advice was offered on the issue. The result was essentially a pragmatic approach, with each census commissioner responsible for the decision to include a religious question and the form and content of the published tables. Decisions taken by early census commissioners tended to be followed subsequently for the sake of maintaining continuity. In most cases smooth bureaucratic transitions at independence resulted in colonial practices being retained, unless there were pressing reasons for change. Nevertheless, the form of the question and particularly the classification scheme were susceptible to modification reflecting changing national priorities. Computerisation of the census has resulted in the widespread abandonment of open‐ended questions and the presentation of a restricted list of options, unique to each country. Commonwealth countries thus exhibit a highly flexible and diverse range of responses to recording religion.