4.5% of Jews in England and Wales identify as LGB+ according to latest census data

Around 9,600 members of the Jewish community in England and Wales – roughly 4.5 percent – identify as LGB+, according to the latest data released from the 2021 census.

The data also reveals that a higher proportion of people in England and Wales with Muslim, Sikh or Hindu backgrounds have a different gender identity to the one at birth than those who identify as Christian.

There are also higher proportions of people identifying as gay or lesbian, bisexual or another sexual orientation (LGB+) among those who say they are Buddhist or Jewish than Christian.

The census included for the first time questions on sexual orientation and gender identify, which were voluntary for people aged 16 and over.

After concerns were raised by some that the question might have been confusing for people whose first language was not English, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said there was no evidence to suggest the published results from the 2021 census were not coded or processed accurately.

The latest data breaks down the responses for sexuality and gender by various characteristics, including ethnicity and religion.

It shows that 23.7 million people in England and Wales identified as Christian on the day of the census, of which just over 396,000, or 1.7%, identified as LGB+ while 95,000, or 0.4%, said their gender was different from the sex registered at birth.

Three religious groups had a higher proportion of people identifying as LGB+, though their overall numbers were smaller.

Nearly 246,000 people told the census they identified as Buddhist, of which 7.3% (just under 18,000) also identified as LGB+, while almost 214,000 identified as Jewish, of which 4.5% (9,600) identified as LGB+.

Of the 823,000 people in the Hindu group, 1.8% (14,400) identified as LGB+.

The two other main religious groups, Sikh and Muslim, had a smaller proportion identifying as LGB+, at 1.5% and 1.4% respectively.

However, of the 17.4 million people in England and Wales who told the census they had “no religion”, nearly 965,000 or 5.6% identified as LGB+.

Tuesday’s data also shows that, of the 2.7 million people identifying as Muslim, nearly 40,000 said their gender was different from the sex registered at birth: a smaller number than in the Christian group, but a higher proportion, at 1.5%.

There were also higher proportions among people identifying as Buddhist (1.3%), Sikh (1.0%), Hindu (0.9%) and Jewish (0.6%), though the numbers are again small, at around 3,000, 4,000, 8,000 and 1,000 respectively.

The figures are likely to be influenced by a range of factors, such as age, educational background and health, the ONS said.

For example, people who told the census they identify as Muslim have the youngest average age (27) of any religious group, while those who reported “no religion” have an average age of 32.

By contrast, those identifying as Christian have a median average age of 51 years, compared with 40 years for the overall population.

Dalia Fleming, executive director of Keshet UK, which champions the inclusion of LGBT people in all areas of Jewish life, told Jewish News: “LGBT+ people exist in every community and every part of society. KeshetUK is dedicated to ensuring all parts of our community understand what they can do to ensure Jewish LGBT+ people and their families are included throughout our Jewish community.”

Aine Fox and Ian Jones (PA) contributed to this report.