Saliency of Political Issues

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Clive D. Field

We have already noted one headline finding from the online Cpanel survey of 422 practising Christians conducted by ComRes for Premier Christian Radio between 30 March and 12 April 2010 (‘Christians and the general election’, 19 April).

Hot off the press, ComRes has now released the full findings, running to 84 pages of data tables, for this poll. They cover the attitudes of Christians to political issues, political party leaders and the prospects of a hung Parliament following the general election.

The tables will be found at:

http://www.comres.co.uk/premierchristiansapril2010.aspx

Space does not permit a complete analysis of the results, but it is useful to highlight here the saliency of particular political issues among practising Christians and the electorate as a whole (the latter data are taken from an Ipsos MORI poll of 1,503 adult Britons aged 18 and over interviewed by telephone on 19-22 March 2010).

The percentages of each of these two groups saying that a specific political issue was likely to be very important to them in helping to decide which party to vote for at the forthcoming general election were as follows:

  CHRISTIANS ELECTORATE
Economy

64

32
Families

63

Not asked
Healthcare

53

26
Education

52

23
Crime

42

8
Immigration

34

14
Environment

31

5
Taxes

27

12
Third world/international issues

27

Not asked
Climate change

19

Not asked
Transport

17

3

What is interesting from the above table is that, while the economy, healthcare and education are key priorities for both groups, practising Christians appear to be much more exercised about every issue than do electors in general.

When asked a different question, to choose from a list of issues which is the most important one facing Britain today, practising Christians gave the following answers: economy (42%), family and societal breakdown (13%), secularism (11%), immigration (7%), moral disintegration (7%), faults in the political system (5%), crime (3%), unemployment (2%) and religious freedom (2%).

The poll thus suggests that politicians courting votes would be well-advised to remember that practising Christians appear to be informed and concerned voters, often with specific political preoccupations.

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Christians and the General Election

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Clive D. Field

Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats may currently be riding on the crest of a wave following last Thursday’s televised leadership debate, but he appears to have a lot of ground to make up with practising Christians in the UK.

That at least is the conclusion suggested by an online Cpanel survey of 423 of them undertaken by ComRes on behalf of Premier Christian Media between 30 March and 12 April 2010.

This sample of Christians (weighted denominationally according to the 2005 English church census) was asked who would make the best prime minister. 37% said David Cameron of the Conservatives, with 20% favouring Labour’s Gordon Brown, 6% Nick Clegg and 3% minor party leaders.

However, 22% of Christians remain undecided about who would be best to lead the country and a further 12% profess no faith in any of the potential leaders. With 17 days of campaigning to go before the general election, it certainly seems to make sense for politicians to court the Christian vote.

Premier’s press announcement about the poll appears at:

http://www.inspiremagazine.org.uk/news.aspx?action=view&id=4404

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Tolerance of Religion

Posted on April 18, 2010 by Clive D. Field

ComRes has just released on its website the results of an opinion poll it conducted for the BBC on 26-28 February 2010, which does not yet appear to have been publicized by the BBC itself. A representative sample of 1,005 adult Britons aged 18 and over was interviewed by telephone.

Only one question was put to the sample: ‘In your opinion, is Britain becoming more tolerant or less tolerant of religion?’ 39% of respondents replied that Britain is becoming more tolerant, 14% reported no change and 44% detected a growing intolerance towards religion.

Of standard demographics, only the breaks by age particularly stand out: 64% of those aged 18-24 considered that Britain is becoming more tolerant of religion, whereas 57% of those aged 65 and over felt it is becoming less tolerant (more than twice the proportion of this cohort believing it to be more tolerant).

Because of the limited sample size, disaggregations by religious profession are only meaningful for the categories of Christians and those with no religion. By a margin of 8% (37% more and 45% less tolerant), Christians were more inclined to pessimism, while for the irreligious there was a net 3% towards optimism (44% against 41%).

For the full statistics, see: http://www.comres.co.uk/page165372537.aspx

The results are broadly consistent with those of other recent surveys covering religious prejudice and discrimination in pointing to an environment in which religious people in Britain have a sense of being increasingly under scrutiny. This is especially so for Muslims (on account of rising Islamophobia) and Christians (who feel vulnerable in the face of legislative changes, unsuccessful court cases and attacks from high-profile secularists).

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Bible Reading and Bible Origins

Posted on April 12, 2010 by Clive D. Field

The Spring 2010 issue of Word in Action, the Bible Society’s magazine, contains an article by Jennie Pollock entitled ‘Positive Vibes for Bible’. This sets out the headline findings of a recent opinion poll commissioned by Theos, the public theology think tank which is part-supported by the Bible Society. You will find this article at:

http://www.biblesociety.org.uk/uploads/Products/product_1079/wia_spring2010.pdf

In fact, the research was conducted by ComRes as far back as 14 October-21 November 2008 among a telephone sample of 2,060 adults aged 18 and over in the United Kingdom. Two background questions about the Bible were included as part of the quantitative phase of the Theos ‘Rescuing Darwin’ project.

These particular questions were not reported on in the main document arising from the survey: Caroline Lawes, Faith and Darwin: Harmony, Conflict or Confusion? (London: Theos, 2009, £10). However, the full data tabulations for them were posted by Theos on its website on 18 February 2010 and will be found at: 

http://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/Rescuing_Darwin_data_set.aspx?ArticleID=3838&PageID=110&RefPageID=110

The first question asked how often respondents read the Bible. 12% replied at least once a week, 27% less often and 61% never. Weekly or more frequent readers were likely to be aged 65 and over (19%), to live in Northern Ireland (20%), and to be ethnic blacks (29%) or practising Christians (88%). Non-readers were especially prevalent among those aged 18-24 (73%), those whose final level of education was GCSE or equivalent (70%), Asians (78%), non-Christians (71%) and those with no religion (82%).

The second question offered four statements about the Bible and asked which came closest to the interviewee’s opinion. 26% considered the Bible to be the divinely inspired word of God, including 39% of those aged 65 and over, 35% in Wales, 33% in Northern Ireland, 35% of the DE social group, 36% with no educational qualifications, 64% of blacks and 83% of practising Christians.

For 37% the Bible was a useful book of guidance and advice for our lives but not the word of God. 19% regarded it as beautiful literature but otherwise irrelevant to us today. 11% dismissed it as an irrelevant and dangerous collection of ancient myths, including 19% of those aged 18-24, 24% of Asians, 22% of non-Christians and 19% with no religion.

Other surveys have also covered the degree to which the Bible is considered to be of divine origin, although the question-wording is not strictly comparable with that used in this ComRes/Theos poll. For the results from these earlier studies, see:

http://www.brin.ac.uk/figures/documents/biblegeneral.xls

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Secular Easter

Posted on April 3, 2010 by Clive D. Field

Easter may be the holy of holies in the Christian calendar, but for most of us it is little more than a longish secular holiday, moderately ruined in many years (including 2010) by indifferent weather. International Christendom still cannot agree on a fixed date for Easter (as provided for in Britain by the as yet unimplemented Easter Act 1928, which would move the festival towards mid-April, when the weather might hopefully be better).

The secular undercurrent of Easter is clearly brought out in a survey conducted by 72Point for B&Q (the UK’s largest home improvement and garden centre retailer) in March, among a sample of 3,000 adults. The top five anticipated Easter activities are: relaxing (36%), visiting family (34%), gardening (33%), starting DIY jobs (24%) and day trips to the beach or park (24%). Seven in ten believe that the long bank holiday weekend is the best time to freshen up the home and garden, with the average person expecting to spend 15 hours this Easter doing just that. The most popular Easter jobs for women are cleaning (72%) and tidying (70%), for men fitting shelves (65%) and building furniture (55%).

This home and garden improvement bug is likely to be partially curbed in England and Wales by the provisions of the Sunday Trading Act 1994. Although this liberalized shop opening hours on ordinary Sundays, large shops (those with more than 3,000 square feet of selling space) are prohibited from serving retail customers on Easter Sunday and Christmas Day. This Easter the law is being challenged by the 73 stores in the Garden Centre Group, which will be open on Easter Sunday for browsing and advice, but not for purchasing items. When public opinion was last tested on the subject, in March 2008, by GfK NOP for the Keep Sunday Special campaign, 44% of Britons had not noticed or were unaware that large shops were closed on Easter Sunday, and 79% of the remaining 56% were not bothered by the closure.

A second secular institution of Easter is the holiday or outing. According to the Automobile Association’s membership panel, run by Populus, 56% of 17,500 UK motorists interviewed online in March anticipated that they would take to the roads this Easter. Of these 44% were planning day trips and 31% a weekend break in the UK. Of those not driving, 39% expected to go on (or return from) an overseas holiday. A similar survey, by One Poll for the RAC in March among 2,000 respondents, found that 76% of drivers planned to be on the roads over Easter, equating to more than 20 million of the country’s 31 million registered cars. 

A third Easter tradition is indulgence, epitomized by the consumption of chocolate Easter eggs. A new survey from mystery shopping company Retail Active, conducted by email among a sample of 2,000, has revealed that even 70% of dieters will suspend their regime and consume chocolate over Easter. Children aged 10-14 (the peak age for Easter egg consumption) will eat an average of 13 eggs each, containing 2.6kg of chocolate, over the Easter holiday, taking in 12,900 calories and 650 grams of fat. 77% of adults allow their children to tuck into Easter eggs first thing on Easter morning, before having breakfast or even a drink, and 70% of parents have adopted the American tradition of ‘hunt the Easter egg’. The lowest consumption rate, one egg each, was reported by those aged 40-59 and 75 and over.

Meanwhile, does religion get a look-in? Comparatively little research has been conducted into popular attitudes to and the observance of Easter as a religious festival in Britain. The principal exception to this is Clive Field, ‘It’s all chicks and going out: the observance of Easter in post-war Britain’, Theology, Vol. 101, No. 800, March/April 1998, pp. 82-90, which is now somewhat dated. The most important recent poll on the subject was conducted by ComRes for Theos in February 2008, among a sample of 1,100 adults interviewed by telephone. The data tabulations for this survey will be found at:

http://www.comres.co.uk/Theos-Easter-Poll.aspx

All that we know for 2010 so far is that, in a survey of 430 of its customers by HolidayExtras.com in March, a mere 4% said that the religious celebration is the most important aspect of Easter for them. This compares with 53% who replied that they were most looking forward to spending some quality time with their family, and 30% who were relishing the break from work.

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Reform of the House of Lords – Whither the Bishops?

Posted on March 15, 2010 by Clive D. Field

According to media reports, the Government is once again contemplating radical reform of the House of Lords, bringing in a fully-elected chamber. Such a move would inevitably spell the end to the presence there of the 26 Church of England bishops sitting as the lords spiritual.

Would such a move be welcomed in the court of public opinion? The most recent survey of a representative sample of British adults on the subject was conducted by ComRes for the BBC’s ‘Heaven and earth’ programme in July 2007.

Views were then fairly evenly divided on the continued presence of the bishops in the House of Lords, 48% agreeing and 43% disagreeing. In the event that the episcopal presence was to be maintained, 65% thought that the entitlement to sit in the upper chamber should also be extended to non-Anglican religious leaders.

But what of Parliamentarians? Would they support any legislative measure to unseat the bishops? Unfortunately, no recent survey of the attitudes of MPs appears to have been carried out. However, there have been two ComRes peers’ panel surveys.

The first, in November-December 2008, revealed 45% of peers in favour of the status quo for the lords spiritual and 44% desiring change. Tory peers were overwhelmingly in favour of keeping the current arrangements, Labour and Liberal Democrat ones most enthusiastic for reform. 22% of peers argued that there should be absolutely no representation in the House of Lords on the basis of faith, Christian or otherwise, the proportion rising to one in two among Labour and Liberal Democrat peers.

The second peers’ panel, in June-July 2009, found 54% agreeing that religious representation in the House of Lords should reflect the faith composition of the country as a whole, with 33% disagreeing. There were no major differences in response by political allegiance. The number wanting to see religious representation phased out had risen to 28% and was again especially high among Labour and Liberal Democrat peers.

As for the Church of England itself, according to a questionnaire completed by readers of the Church Times in March-April 2001, 82% of the churchgoing laity and 76% of the clergy support the continued presence of Anglican bishops in the House of Lords.

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Religion and Politics – A New Opinion Poll

Posted on February 21, 2010 by Clive D. Field

Since its launch in November 2006 the public theology think tank, Theos, has performed valuable service in a number of ways, not least (in the cause of religious statistics) by commissioning a series of opinion polls to gauge public attitudes on a range of religious and moral issues.

With a general election in the offing, Theos has sponsored ComRes to survey the views of 1,085 British adults of voting age on the subject of religion and politics. Fieldwork was conducted by telephone on 17 and 18 February 2010. These voters and potential voters sub-divided into 674 professed Christians, 71 Muslims, 47 of other faiths and 291 of no religion.

Recall of voting at the 2005 general election showed that Muslims and those of no religion were then somewhat more inclined to support Labour than the Conservatives. Among those likely to vote this year this still remains the case for Muslims, 57 per cent of whom opt for Labour and 18 per cent for the Conservatives.

For all other groups there is a net advantage for the Conservatives over Labour, +10 per cent among Christians, +34 per cent for non-Christians other than Muslims and +8 per cent for those of no religion.

When asked which of the political parties had been most or least friendly towards particular religions during recent years, one-half of respondents were unable to express a view. Of those recording an opinion, the Conservative and Labour parties are seen as equally well-disposed to the Christian faith.

However, Labour is felt to be most empathetic to Islam (by 36 per cent of the sample, against 10 per cent who judged Conservatives as most pro-Muslim). Labour was also regarded as being more predisposed towards faith in general.

Majorities of the population disagree that religious freedoms have been restricted in Britain during the past decade (59 per cent against 32 per cent agreeing), and that the law should prevent people from expressing their religious views in the workplace (63 per cent against 31 per cent).

Most (64 per cent, with 30 per cent disagreeing) consider that the Pope and other religious leaders have a responsibility to speak out on political issues they are concerned about, a topic prompted by Benedict XVI’s recent intervention over the equality bill before the Westminster Parliament.

There is a commentary on the poll by Nick Spencer, Director of Studies at Theos, which aims to trigger an online debate on the question ‘Is Labour the Natural Home for British Muslims?’ This can be accessed at:

http://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/Is_Labour_the_natural_home_for_British_Muslims.aspx?ArticleID=3850&PageID=11&RefPageID=5

There is also a ComRes press release on the survey, with a link to the full data tables, at:

http://www.comres.co.uk/page190146516.aspx

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Integrity and Religion of MPs

Posted on February 12, 2010 by Clive D. Field

Project SUSA has released the results of an opinion poll on the subject of the integrity and religion of Members of Parliament.

The survey was conducted by ComRes by telephone among a representative sample of 1,000 British adults aged 18 and over between 22 and 24 January 2010.

A press release about the poll’s findings, including a link to the full set of data tables, will be found at:

http://www.susa.info/news/susa-poll

In the lead up to the forthcoming general election the poll found that 19 per cent believed that politics in the UK would be improved if more MPs read the Bible, with 76 per cent disagreeing.

25 per cent said that they would trust an MP who is a practising Christian more than one who is not. However, 16 per cent would trust a practising Christian less.

39 per cent thought that their MP is a believer in some religion, 27 per cent that their MP is of no religion, with 34 per cent unsure.

72 per cent of the sample said that the personal integrity of their MP was more important to them than the party to which the MP belonged. 71 per cent claimed that the expenses scandal of 2009 had heightened their concerns about perceived integrity issues.

Project SUSA was formally launched at the House of Commons on 3 February, with a vision ‘to encourage and equip Christians in the UK to become more extensively and effectively engaged in politics and government’.

The initiative is led by the Bible Society with support from 24-7 Prayer. It is endorsed by Christians in Politics, the official cross-party organization for Christian groups in the main UK political parties.

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Religion and human rights

Posted on January 19, 2010 by Clive D. Field

Liberty, the human rights organization, has today released the findings from a poll of United Kingdom Christians on the subject of freedom of religion and religious discrimination.

The poll was commissioned against the background of the case of Nadia Eweida who was banned by her employer, British Airways, from wearing a Christian cross outside her uniform. The case has now reached the Court of Appeal.

A total of 535 Christians aged 18 and over, drawn from the Cpanel, were surveyed by ComRes by online questionnaire between 3 December 2009 and 10 January 2010.

96 per cent of the sample agreed that everybody should have freedom of thought, conscience and religion as long as they do no harm to other people.

85 per cent agreed that, irrespective of their religion, the law should protect the right of believers to wear symbols of their faith.

87 per cent expressed the view that British Airways had acted unfairly towards Nadia Eweida and 86 per cent said that the company was wrong to insist the cross was covered up.

80 per cent thought the case set a dangerous precedent for religious discrimination.

Full computer tabulations of the results of the poll may be found at:

http://www.comres.co.uk/resources/7/Political%20Polls/Liberty%20Cpanel%20tables%20Jan2010.pdf

An article about the case by Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty, appears in today’s issue of The Times (‘Freedom must apply to all faiths and none’). This, with an associated videocast, is also published online at:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6992931.ece

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