Majority of Britons `no longer believe in God'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The majority of British people do not believe God exists, a new poll suggests. It is the first time a national survey has put believers in a minority.
The MORI poll for the British Humanist Association, to be released next week, found that while 67 per cent of people consider themselves religious, only 43 per cent believe there is a God. The results are in contrast to previous polls which put the number who said they believed in God at more than 60 per cent.
Robert Ashby, executive director of the British Humanist Association, which conducts non-religious weddings, funerals and baby namings, said the poll showed people were looking for secular alternatives.
"There has been a decline in the authority of the Church," he said. "A lot of people are noticing it no longer sticks to scripture and they are saying, `We believe in ritual but we don't believe in the scripture side.'"
Christians dismissed the survey, casting doubt on the methods employed. Canon Andrew Duechar, a spokesman for the Archbishop of Canterbury, said he had seen no evidence of a fall in belief. "It will be interesting to compare this to other surveys which have shown over 70 per cent believe," he said.
A Methodist spokesman, the Reverend John Kennedy, was blunter, saying: "The BHA is playing with a loaded deck."
The poll was carried out in people's homes as part of a MORI survey which uses a pool of regular interviewees, and included 1,000 men and 1,068 women covering the whole range of social class. Interviewees were given a list of statements which they could tick if they agreed with them, one of which was, "I believe that God exists." Only 43 per cent ticked it.
Such a score would represent a sharp drop in belief. A survey in 1990 found that 76 per cent believed in God, while a poll last year put the number of believers at 61 per cent.
John Ward, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cardiff, expressed scepticism about the finding but added: "There is a way in which it wouldn't surprise me. You only have to look at the standards by which a lot of people live these days. Probably they don't put God in that context any more."
Mr Ashby defended the humanists' polling method: "We initially wanted the statement to say, `I don't believe in God,' but turned it around precisely because that would have been loaded in our favour.
"These were relaxed interviews carried out in a relaxed manner where people had time to give a considered answer," he said.
Leading article, page 20
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments