Metropolitan Borough of Bury - Religion

Religion

See also: List of churches in Greater Manchester

As of the 2001 UK census, 73.6% of people in Bury stated they were Christian with 4.94% following the Jewish and 3.74% following the Muslim faiths. The Jewish community in Prestwich and Whitefield is one of the largest in the country. Bury is covered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford, and the Anglican Diocese of Manchester.

There are four Grade I listed churches in Bury. The Church of All Saints, in Whitefield, was built in 1826. The Parish Church of St Mary, in Radcliffe is a 14th century church with a 15th century tower. The Church of St Mary the Virgin, in Prestwich, is a 15th century church. The current Church of St Mary the Virgin, in Bury, was built in 1876 by J. S. Crowther. Of the eight Grade II* listed buildings in Bury, two are churches: Christ Church, Walshaw and the Presbyterian Chapel in Ainsworth.

The original Jewish immigrant community in Manchester was based in the inner city. As in other cities the community gradually moved outward geographically and upward economically from its roots establishing itself in the more leafy suburbs of Prestwich, Crumpsall and Broughton Park. Later a second migration of young families in the mid-1960s sought pastures even further away from these traditional areas settling in Whitefield, Sunnybank and Unsworth. There are now about 10 synagogues in the Borough.