Monthly Archives: April 2011

Doing God in Politics

‘We don’t do God’ was a famous intervention by Alastair Campbell, press secretary to former Prime Minister Tony Blair, when trying to protect his boss from an interviewer’s questioning about Blair’s Christian beliefs. That separation of religion and politics is … Continue reading

Posted in Religion and Politics, Survey news | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

YouGov@Cambridge Launched

Last Thursday (28 April) marked the virtual launch of YouGov@Cambridge, a new research forum representing a collaboration between online pollsters YouGov and the University of Cambridge’s Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS). YouGov@Cambridge, directed by Dr Joel Faulkner Rogers, aims … Continue reading

Posted in Religion and Politics, Survey news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

By George!

Today, 23 April, is St George’s Day, the traditionally accepted date of his Christian martyrdom in the fourth century AD. This remains the case in most diaries, even though the Anglican and Roman Catholic calendars have moved the English national … Continue reading

Posted in Survey news | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

School Workforce in England

Just 32% of teachers of religious education in publicly funded secondary schools in England have a degree in a relevant subject, 13% have another relevant post-A Level qualification, but 55% have no relevant post-A Level qualification. This is according to … Continue reading

Posted in Official data | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Threats to the European Union

Islamist terrorism is viewed as the second greatest threat to the European Union (EU) over the next few years, according to a five-nation European poll conducted online by ICM Research for The Guardian between 24 February and 8 March 2011. … Continue reading

Posted in Religion and Politics, Survey news | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Church Buildings Surveyed

The National Churches Trust (NCT, formerly the Historic Churches Preservation Trust, established in 1953) has today published a 72-page report on its survey of the UK’s estimated 47,000 places of Christian worship. The study was conducted between 16 April and 28 … Continue reading

Posted in News from religious organisations, Survey news | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Does Christianity Have A Future?

BRIN readers who happen to catch this post before 10.25pm this evening (Sunday 17 April) may be interested in tonight’s programme, DOES CHRISTIANITY HAVE A FUTURE? on BBC1. Continue reading

Posted in Religion in public debate, Religion in the Press | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Britain as a Christian Country

The recent census question on religion sparked some debate about the persistence of cultural Christianity. That phenomenon can be defined both at the level of the individual and in terms of national character – whether Britain remains a ‘Christian country’. … Continue reading

Posted in News from religious organisations, Religion in public debate, Survey news | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Trends in Anglican Confirmations, 1872-2009

There has been some discussion in the press regarding Kate Middleton’s recent confirmation as an Anglican, and so I thought I would look up the extant data. Continue reading

Posted in Historical studies, Measuring religion, Religion in the Press, Rites of Passage | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Burka Britain

Two-thirds of Britons would like to see the burka banned in this country, notwithstanding the fact that the Home Secretary has indicated that the Government has no intention of moving in the same direction as France, where a law prohibiting … Continue reading

Posted in Survey news | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments