There are 3 new questions and 2 important campaigns regarding the census. If you are a carer, LBGT or non-religious please fill your census in carefully. The data on the census is used to justify where public money is spent.
Lots of people thought they were very funny putting Jedi as their religion in the last census however that seemingly harmless act meant everyone who wrote Jedi was counted as religious and that has been used as an argument ever since to have a daily act of worship in schools and build more faith schools. If you're not religious say so.
Many of us end up being unpaid carers at some point in our lives and when this is only for a short time we usually don't identify ourselves as carers on surveys however a census is a snap shot. If you're caring for someone on March 21st even if it's just for a few days say so.
There are also 3 new questions 2 of which are designed to reveal the true size of the LBGT population. Please think very carefully about how you answer these questions. If most bisexual people who are currently in happy heterosexual relationships tick the heterosexual box it will affect funding and support for young bisexual people coming to terms with their sexualities. Please tick the box for your sexuality not your current relationship.
1) Carers. https://www.carersuk.org/news-and-campaigns/campaigns/census-2021?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxvu2-bKS7wIVztPtCh28_ANJEAAYAiAAEgJQb_D_BwE
2) Gender identity https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-55721123
3) Sexual orientation https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/oct/18/census-to-ask-about-sexual-orientation-for-the-first-time
4) Religion https://humanism.org.uk/census-2021/

Holy shit, do you guys have Jedi temples!? Practicing lightsabers and moving shit with your minds!?

If I could move things with my mind there would be certain people who'd suddenly find themselves in messy situations.

Don't suppose you've got a citation for that?

as redonkulous as it might sound, a person might * TRULY * identify as "jedi" while at the same time possess ZERO abilities to actually USE the force???

@ shiny Lycra. That the censors data is used for planning allocation of funds etc is in the information given by the office of national statistics on why we have a census. Each time the 2011 census is quoted they will say that only 25% ticked the no religion box. I'm one of those annoying people who writes to their MP etc so I have had that stat quoted at me especially as my MP is very religious. It annoys me as I don't feel that the percentage of non religious people should have a bearing on how secular a country is. Many of my religious friends believe as passionately as I do that political decisions should be secular (when I use the word secular I simply mean without bias to a religion and not discriminating against anyone on religious grounds).

And any one who identifies as a Jedi should pop it on the census or indeed if you Identify as a seventh day hopist.

Being "religious" and being observant are two different things.

One can be religious, but not attend church/synagogue/mosque, etc. That is JUST what they identify as.

Being observant is something else entirely. They actually practice rituals, rites, customs, etc.

And don't get me started on circumcision, which is a religious practice, but done in the US as a matter of course because of bullshit science and "tradition".

Agreed that identifying as religious and being observant are 2 different things and personally I would like to see changes to our society that made it easier for those who identify as a religion to be observant just as I'd like to see at least 1 vegan choice on each menu even though I eat meat.
I do think the religion question on the census is placed to give a cultural bias as it comes after a question on ethnicity. I would like to see the results reflect people's beliefs rather than their cultural back ground as I feel that belief is the information that is important when it comes to reviewing laws and allocating funding.

I agree that it's a good idea to be honest on the form. However, looking at the ONS statistics from 2011:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/religion/articles/exploringreligioninenglandandwales/february2020
"Those who identified as "any other religion" made up the smallest part of the population of England (0.4% or almost 228,000), while in Wales, this was the case for those who identified as Jewish (0.1% or just over 2,000)."

I.e. if all the people in England who put down "Jedi" had ticked "no religion" instead, the best case scenario is that "no religion" went from 25% to 25.4%. So, it's probably not going to be that significant. (I'd also guess that some of the "any other religion" people are actually sincere, e.g. Wiccans.)

I don't know how many people skipped that question altogether, but that could have more of an impact.

Census day today!

Just a reminder to complete your questions today - took me 13 mins!

You don't need to see my Census form. It doesn't contain the answers you're looking for.

Move along

dare i ask what is a "seventh day hopist" might be? (honestly, i have no clue) i suppose also i might google that... maybe... eventually, unless something else might...

SQUIRREL!!!!!!

WAM_in_bed: Does this census ask about political party?
I would LOVE to see any religionists who preach about imaginary non-existent "oppression" they "suffer" and how "open they are to free speech & alternative beliefs" openly defend somebody who identifies as Communist or Marxist under political parties. I sure would. I don't know the distribution of population in political parties in the UK.

It doesn't ask about voting intention, in the UK only a tiny part of the population actually joins any given party, there isn't any equivalent of the US registered Rep or Dem voters thing. Basically the census asks:

Who are you, where are you from. (Now with optional extra questions to establish numbers of LGBT people, etc, plus the optional religion one).
What is your occupation or work?
Do you have access to motor vehicles?
What kind of house do you live in, and who do you share it with (if anyone).

There's also a possibility 2021 may have been the last one as the same data may in future be easier to acquire from existing government / establishment datasources.