Yes context and local demography does matter.. London is in many ways an outlier... but there are also local differences between boroughs .. compare Harrow, Tower Hamlets, Newham, Southwark, Hackney..
Up north there are also local differnces.. The Pennine towns from Blackburn to Bradford are still ralther polarised between Pakistani Muslim heritage communities and white (though with increasing diversity involving East Europeans and varied refugees). Preston and much of Greater Manchester, and probably Leeds are more diverse and more like London, and a bit more prosperous than the rest of the region.
Then there is a large band of 90% plus white British Towns from Wigan, St Helens, Leyland through to Blackpool.
I have been working on the religion data at LA district level in the 2021 Census and offer this typology of districts
A very tentative classification of districts follows. Inevitably there will be some overlaps and lots of fuzzy boundaries, together with complex local patterns when data is observed at more granular geographies.
1. Least religiously diverse (above average Christian) These districts have populations with a considerable white British majority. The majority religions counted in the census are “Christian and No religion” The much higher than average proportions of Christians suggest delayed secularisation. These LAs are found mainly in North West England where Roman Catholicism retains a significant presence and some rural areas
2. Secularised areas of England, These districts also have a large white British majority. The religion question indicates a significantly above above average proportion of people with No religion . There seem to be two types of district
a) Some provincial university towns, where there are relatively low proportions of ethnic minorities. This suggests that the high proportions of young well educated white British residents are likely to raise the figures for “No Religion”
b) Seaside and deindustrialised districts (such as former mining areas). The populations here may be older, and less well educated, with high numbers of white working class residents.
3. Areas of superdiversity. These districts have a population which is multi ethnic and multi faith, in a number of cases where the White British population has become a minority. The presence of most of the world faiths is evident, especially Hindus, Muslims and Black Christians. These areas include many Inner and outer London boroughs, Leicester, districts in the Birmingham conurbation, Leeds, and Preston.
4. Areas which are diverse but with Sikh concentrations. These are districts with religious diversity within which Sikhs are found in well above average numbers sufficient to distinguish them from type 3. They include several adjoining areas in the West Midlands, a group of boroughs in West London.
5. Areas of strong Muslim presence..where the population is made up of residents of South Asian heritage and White British people, often living in neighbourhoods which show high rates of residential segregation. . These include a cluster of Pennine towns; Bradford, Burnley, Blackburn, Pendle, Rochdale, Oldham, Kirklees and Luton. (Parts of East London, Birmingham and Leicester also have high proportions of Muslims but in a context of superdiversity).
6. Areas with large Jewish Populations These are usually urban or suburban areas with moderately diverse populations but are marked by the high proportion of Jewish residents, There are three distinct area in Greater London (a cluster of districts in the North West of London,, Hackney/ Haringey in the inner east, and Redbridge and beyond on the North Eastern edge of London). In the North of England the areas are Bury and Salford in Greater Manchester, Leeds and Gateshead.
One interesting hypothesis following the analysis by Smith and Woodhead (2018) who found 66% of English people identifying as Church of England voted leave, is the relationship between the religious makeup of an area and the strength of support for Brexit. In order to make a preliminary assessment we examined the ONS data by constituencies seeking to correlate it with voting patterns in the Brexit referendum of 2016. There are some indications that the highest leave vote was in constituencies where 90%+ are Christian or no religion. Among the top ten pro-Brexit constituencies, 8 fit this pattern. There are two exceptions, Walsall North and Stoke on Trent, urban areas which have significant populations of (ethno)religious minorities yet still voted overwhelmingly to leave,
Sometimes racist comments such as that offered by Anderson has simply to be called out as racist. Maybe some contexts teach you to "smell" and "sense" racism more than other contexts and help explain why people view these issues differently. For myself I started learning how to detect the stench of racism during my sojourn in the heart of Liverpool's black community. And I know the learning is not over yet as it is remains deeply bedded in my subconsciousness.
Yes context and local demography does matter.. London is in many ways an outlier... but there are also local differences between boroughs .. compare Harrow, Tower Hamlets, Newham, Southwark, Hackney..
Up north there are also local differnces.. The Pennine towns from Blackburn to Bradford are still ralther polarised between Pakistani Muslim heritage communities and white (though with increasing diversity involving East Europeans and varied refugees). Preston and much of Greater Manchester, and probably Leeds are more diverse and more like London, and a bit more prosperous than the rest of the region.
Then there is a large band of 90% plus white British Towns from Wigan, St Helens, Leyland through to Blackpool.
I have been working on the religion data at LA district level in the 2021 Census and offer this typology of districts
A very tentative classification of districts follows. Inevitably there will be some overlaps and lots of fuzzy boundaries, together with complex local patterns when data is observed at more granular geographies.
1. Least religiously diverse (above average Christian) These districts have populations with a considerable white British majority. The majority religions counted in the census are “Christian and No religion” The much higher than average proportions of Christians suggest delayed secularisation. These LAs are found mainly in North West England where Roman Catholicism retains a significant presence and some rural areas
2. Secularised areas of England, These districts also have a large white British majority. The religion question indicates a significantly above above average proportion of people with No religion . There seem to be two types of district
a) Some provincial university towns, where there are relatively low proportions of ethnic minorities. This suggests that the high proportions of young well educated white British residents are likely to raise the figures for “No Religion”
b) Seaside and deindustrialised districts (such as former mining areas). The populations here may be older, and less well educated, with high numbers of white working class residents.
3. Areas of superdiversity. These districts have a population which is multi ethnic and multi faith, in a number of cases where the White British population has become a minority. The presence of most of the world faiths is evident, especially Hindus, Muslims and Black Christians. These areas include many Inner and outer London boroughs, Leicester, districts in the Birmingham conurbation, Leeds, and Preston.
4. Areas which are diverse but with Sikh concentrations. These are districts with religious diversity within which Sikhs are found in well above average numbers sufficient to distinguish them from type 3. They include several adjoining areas in the West Midlands, a group of boroughs in West London.
5. Areas of strong Muslim presence..where the population is made up of residents of South Asian heritage and White British people, often living in neighbourhoods which show high rates of residential segregation. . These include a cluster of Pennine towns; Bradford, Burnley, Blackburn, Pendle, Rochdale, Oldham, Kirklees and Luton. (Parts of East London, Birmingham and Leicester also have high proportions of Muslims but in a context of superdiversity).
6. Areas with large Jewish Populations These are usually urban or suburban areas with moderately diverse populations but are marked by the high proportion of Jewish residents, There are three distinct area in Greater London (a cluster of districts in the North West of London,, Hackney/ Haringey in the inner east, and Redbridge and beyond on the North Eastern edge of London). In the North of England the areas are Bury and Salford in Greater Manchester, Leeds and Gateshead.
One interesting hypothesis following the analysis by Smith and Woodhead (2018) who found 66% of English people identifying as Church of England voted leave, is the relationship between the religious makeup of an area and the strength of support for Brexit. In order to make a preliminary assessment we examined the ONS data by constituencies seeking to correlate it with voting patterns in the Brexit referendum of 2016. There are some indications that the highest leave vote was in constituencies where 90%+ are Christian or no religion. Among the top ten pro-Brexit constituencies, 8 fit this pattern. There are two exceptions, Walsall North and Stoke on Trent, urban areas which have significant populations of (ethno)religious minorities yet still voted overwhelmingly to leave,
Sometimes racist comments such as that offered by Anderson has simply to be called out as racist. Maybe some contexts teach you to "smell" and "sense" racism more than other contexts and help explain why people view these issues differently. For myself I started learning how to detect the stench of racism during my sojourn in the heart of Liverpool's black community. And I know the learning is not over yet as it is remains deeply bedded in my subconsciousness.