Euroscepticism and religion before Brexit

A clear majority of Catholics and Presbyterians, meanwhile, supported Remain. In 1975, however, the religiously unaffiliated were the most opposed to Economic Community (EC) membership, while Britain’s Christian communities were more supportive. Labour Party leader Harold Wilson illustrated the difficult balancing act the party was trying to maintain, leading opposition to the specific terms of EC membership defined in the 1972 Act while remaining supportive of membership in principle, drawing support and criticism from all sides of the House of Commons and even from within his Shadow Cabinet. The themes of the 1975 referendum campaign closely resembled those of the 2016 Brexit referendum. The differences between how members of religious communities, or those of differing religiosities or socialisation experiences, were small, and they are smaller still once people account for other characteristics related to Euroscepticism and/or one’s propensity to express religious traits.