Religion in Cheshire

Religion in Cheshire, and, in particular, Christianity, has a long history. In the 2001 census, however 1 in 5 people either were recorded as no religion or religion not stated.^[1] The boundary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester currently follows most closely the pre-1974 county boundary of Cheshire, so it includes all of Wirral, most of Stockport, and the Cheshire panhandle, that included Tintwistle Rural District council area.^[2] In terms of Roman Catholic church administration, the majority of Cheshire falls into the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury.^[3] Cheshire still has a slightly higher proportion of Christians than the rest of the North West of England.^[1]

There is an Islamic organisation in Cheshire called Islamic Forum Cheshire it is affiliated to the Muslim Council of Britain.^[4]

In Cheshire there were number of Jewish congregations some of which were set up by World War II evacuees ^[5] the only remaining is Chester Hebrew Congregation.^[6] In Cheshire there is also a Jewish Primary School called North Cheshire Jewish Primary School.^[7]

There are a number of Buddhist centres in Cheshire, including Kagyu Buddhism Cheshire,^[8] and Odiyana Buddhist Meditation Centre which provides classes in Buddhism throughout the county.^[9]

In Warrington there is a Sikh Gurdwara called Guru Nanak Gurdwara Sikh Temple built by the Indian community in Cheshire.^[10]