New opinion poll shows British attitudes are increasingly non-religious

From Ekklesia -24/11/06

The claims of established church representatives that Britain remains a predominantly ‘Christian country’ received another blow today, with the publication of an Ipsos MORI poll showing that 36% of people – equivalent to around 17 million adults – share a basically non-religious outlook on life. In the 2001 census 7 out of 10 people ticked the ‘Christian’ box, but with church attendance now below 7% and only 1 in 3 marriages taking place in church in 2004, many have argued that this figure is more about cultural identity than active belief.

According to the survey, released by the British Humanist Association (BHA), 62% of respondents said ‘scientific and other evidence provides the best way to understand the universe’ as distinct from 22% who felt ‘religious beliefs are needed for a complete understanding of the universe’. Similarly, 62% chose ‘Human nature by itself gives us an understanding of what is right and wrong’, as distinct from 27% who said ‘People need religious teachings in order to understand what is right and wrong’. Another question found that 41% endorsed the statement: ‘This life is the only life we have and death is the end of our personal existence’. Fractionally more - 45% - preferred the broad view that ‘when we die we go on and still exist in another way.’

People also base their judgments of right and wrong on ‘the effects on people and the consequences for society and the world’ – a view consonant with some religious as well as non-religious approaches. 42% of respondents said that in their opinion government pays too much attention to ‘religious groups and leaders’. British Humanist Association chief executive Hanne Stinson conceded that this was lower than she might have expected, and said it might be due to “a lingering deference to religion that has outlasted mass religious belief.” She said the poll showed that Britain was “basically a humanist country” and that it needed a “common language” not grounded in religious assumptions.

Andrew Copson, Education Officer at the BHA, said that the result was particularly interesting coming so soon after British government caved in to pressure over faith schools: “The government keeps making the mistake of seeing pressure from religious groups as widespread public opinion… [e]ven though poll after poll has demonstrated wide[spread] public opposition to faith schools”. Simon Barrow, co-director of the UK Christian think tank Ekklesia, said that this latest poll “adds further evidence to the argument that Christendom – the era where Christianity had a preserved and privileged space within the public sphere – is coming to an end.” He added that “the time is now ripe for some serious stock-taking by the churches” but also cautioned against “imposing an easy interpretation on what is going on. Britain is a mixed-belief society, and attempts to make it fit any one mould are readily confounded.”

Ekklesia argues that the churches should not feel threatened by the lessening of social and cultural acceptance of Christian convictions, but should use this as an opportunity to engage the social order in a new way. “What people are rejecting is religion as a coercive, arbitrary and esoteric force over and against full human flourishing and understanding. Rightly understood, the Gospel rejects this too,” commented Simon Barrow. He continued: “Christians should be seeking to renew their intellectual, spiritual and social justice traditions through openness and hospitality towards others, rather than by being defensive or expecting special favour.”

Ekklesia argues that the issue of developing “common language” in a diverse society is a matter of encouraging communication between different life-stances, not trying to impose one set of meanings on everybody. Explained Simon Barrow: “The idea that we are all going to agree if religion goes away is as naïve as the view that you cannot have morality without religion. Difference is here to stay. The challenge is how to establish ground rules for fairness and equal treatment in social life and public debate. All people, whether religious or non-religious, as conventionally defined, have a role to play in that.”