Is Britain a less religious country now than it was in 1900?

When Sympathy for the Devil hit the British charts in 1968, just as the cultural revolution of the 1960s was reaching its zenith, the devil really seemed to be around and busy stealing many a man  s soul and faith. Indicators for religious belief, practice and affiliation entered a new phase of accelerating decline and at the dawn of the new century, most had reached an all-time minimum. Does this imply that Britain is less religious now than it was in 1900? Indeed, it does. But the case is not as straightforward as once has been thought.

In this essay I will follow common usage by defining religion as   beliefs, actions and institutions predicated on the existence of entities with powers of agency (gods) or impersonal powers   which can set the conditions of, or intervene in, human affairs….(short extract)