FURTHER to your article about the 2011 Census in Wednesday’s Oxford Mail, it’s no surprise to Oxford Humanists that the proportion of Oxford citizens now having no religion has increased by more than 50 per cent over the past 10 years.

Oxford Humanists’ membership has more than quadrupled over the last six years and is now approaching 100.

Indeed, for three Saturdays during the official census completion days, and with help from the Atheist, Secularist and Humanist societies in both our local universities, we supported our stand in Cornmarket Street – to remind people of the importance, for those who have no faith, to tick that option in the census form.

Significantly, other leading pollsters have been telling us for several years that the supremacy of ‘faith’ over ‘no faith’ is declining so fast that it may already be over.

Back in 2009, the highly respected “British Social Attitudes Survey” reported that, in answer to the question: ‘Do you regard yourself as belonging to any particular religion (and) if YES which ?’, just over 50 per cent ticked the ‘No religion’ box while less than 49 per cent ticked any of the 20-odd ‘Faith’ options.

I should emphasise that we humanists strongly support everyone’s right to choose the belief system (if any) by which they want to live their lives (and, equally importantly, to change that religion if they want to).

What we think is quite unjustified is that any one faith should be privileged, in law and in society.

JOHN WHITE, Chairman, Oxford Humanists, High Street, Chalgrove