More people aged under 40 years old in South Lakeland opted for "no religion" on the census than identified as Christian, new survey figures show.
The Office for National Statistics data shows 19,900 people aged under 40 in South Lakeland (52%) selected "no religion", followed by about 15,400 under-forties (40%) who selected Christianity.
It is in contrast to the previous census in 2011, when 59% of the age group selected Christianity and 32% opted for no religion.
A similar trend was seen across England and Wales, where "no religion" was the most selected option for under-40s. It is the first time Christianity did not hold the top spot for an age group.
About 13.6 million said they were not religious in 2021 while 9.8 million identified as Christian, which is a reversal from a decade ago when 13.9 million opted for Christianity and 9.4 million were non-religious.
The census figures also show women in South Lakeland were more likely to be religious. The figures show that about 60% of women in the area chose a religion while 52% of men did.
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