One of the interesting by-products of the ICM Research poll of 10-11 March 2010 on religion in public life is the insight which it provides into some of the differences between professing Christians and those of no religion (the sub-samples for other religious groups are too small for effective analysis).
The full data will be found in Table 8 at:
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/survey_on_bishops_icm.pdf
However, here are a few of the headlines:
- Christians are only slightly more likely to be women than are those of no religion, perhaps indicating that the gender bias toward religiosity is fading
- Christians are more likely to be aged 45 and over and those of no religion under 45 years of age – indeed, among the 18-34s the irreligious actually outnumber Christians
- Those with no religion are found proportionately more among non-manual than manual workers, somewhat contrary to long-standing assertions of the alienation of the working class from Christianity
- There are proportionately more irreligious in South-East England than in any other region, underlying the collapse of Anglicanism in its traditional heartland
- Christians are less likely to be working full-time than those of no religion, and more likely to be retired
- Christians are more likely to be owner-occupiers than the irreligious
- The irreligious have a somewhat above-average number of foreign holidays each year, with Christians below the norm
- Significantly more irreligious have access to the internet at home and/or at work than do Christians
- The irreligious are more likely to hold a first or higher university degree or equivalent than are Christians
- The irreligious are more likely to be single and less likely to be married or cohabiting than Christians
- The irreligious are more likely to have children under 18 in their households than Christians
Many of these differences are, of course, a reflection of the respective age profiles of Christians and those of no religion.
