Religion in Birmingham
The Romano-British population undoubtedly worshipped at pagan temples such as that excavated at Coleshill a few miles outside the modern city boundary, which was possibly dedicated to Minerva or Mars [1], and that identified at Letocetum where Icknield Street crosses Watling Street between Birmingham and Lichfield, also apparently dedicated to Minerva [2].
Mercia, the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom in which Birmingham was situated, remained pagan for some decades after Saint Augustine had begun the conversion of England.
Within the modern city boundary, there are a number of other churches which date from the mediaeval period (although many, like St Martin's, were substantially rebuilt in the 19th century).
Householders in Deritend and Bordesley had the unusual right to elect their own chaplain - a right they continued to enjoy until 1890 when a specific act of parliament was required to regularise the situation [4].
According to the 2021 census, 34.0% of Birmingham's residents identify themselves as Christian, a huge declined percentage than the England and Wales plurality average of 46.2%.
The growth in Catholic numbers in the 19th century was fuelled partly by Irish immigration, and a mix of anti-popery and xenophobia led to some confrontations in the town, notably the Murphy Riots of 1867.
Today the number of Catholics in the archdiocese (which extends beyond Birmingham to take in the rest of the West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire and Oxfordshire) has begun to fall from a peak circa 1980.
The Dormition of the Mother of God and St Andrew, Birmingham is a Greek Orthodox cathedral under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople (Fener, Istanbul), via the Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain (based in Craven Hill, London).
Saints Constantine & Helen Orthodox Church in Erdington is a Greek Old Calendar parish established about fifty years ago.
The city of Birmingham is also where the Diocese is headquartered (at St. Mary & St. Mark's Coptic Centre where Bishop Missael resides).
There are currently just over 200 mosques in the city, including purpose built places of worship, converted warehouses, Churches and cinemas as well as former homes, schools and centres.
The other prominent mosques and Islamic centres in the city include the Central Jamia Masjid Ghamkol Sharif (located on Poet's Corner in Golden Hillock Road, Sparkhill), Jami Masjid & Islamic Centre in Coventry Road (Coventry Road Mosque), Green Lane Mosque (a former grand library and now modern refurbished Islamic centre and mosque in Green Lane, Small Heath) which is the headquarters of Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith UK and the 'Amaanah' or Bordesley Centre in Camp Hill run by the Muath Welfare Trust and recently renovated with a generous government grant to continue to provide educational and spiritual services to the large citywide Muslim community.
Small Heath is home to Wright Street Mosque or the Salafi Masjid which is also an independent primary school.
[3] The existence of a Hebrew street name in the surviving 1344–5 Borough Rentals may indicate the presence of a Jewish community in Birmingham in the 13th century – a period of significant economic growth for the expanding market town.
The Singers Hill Synagogue in Blucher Street, a Grade II* listed building which is still used for worship today, was built in 1856 [5].
The Jewish population of the city grew in the late 19th century (from 730 in 1851 to 2,360 in 1871) with the influx of Jews from Eastern Europe which led to the founding of two further Orthodox synagogues.
Redevelopment of the Holloway Head area after World War II and a general trend of movement to the suburbs led to Birmingham's Jews becoming more thinly spread across the city.
A number of Jewish families have emigrated to Israel and others are believed to have moved to the larger communities in London and Manchester.
[12] The most impressive of Birmingham's three Theravada monasteries is the purpose-built Dhamma Talaka Pagoda behind Edgbaston Reservoir, the only such building in traditional Burmese style in the Western hemisphere, which was opened in 1998.
