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]