Influence of the Bible

Posted on May 14, 2011 by Clive D. Field

In this special year of celebration (the quatercentenary of the Authorized or King James Version), a slim majority (54%) of Britons think the Bible is an important book, even though nearly seven in eight of them freely admit that they do not read it that often.

This is one of the principal findings from an opinion poll released on 13 May and carried out by ComRes for the Bible Society. Fieldwork was conducted online on 1-3 April 2011, among a representative sample of 2,379 adults aged 18 and over throughout Great Britain.

Asked how significant the Bible was to them personally, 8% said that it is a very important book, which they claimed to read often and which enriched their lives. The proportion was highest with 18-34s (14%), Londoners (17%), and those from the public sector (15%, virtually twice the figure for the private sector).

46% described it as an important book, which they read infrequently but which had some valuable things to say. The percentage rose steadily with age, from 29% among the 18-24s to 61% for the over-65s.

42% considered the Bible to be unimportant, not really affecting their lives, with a regional high of 55% in Wales and a low of 32% in London, albeit the over-65s (29%) recorded the smallest figure for any demographic sub-group.

4% branded the Bible a dangerous book which should be ignored, the 18-24s (12%) particularly taking this line.

Rather fewer than the 54% acknowledging the significance of the Bible felt that knowledge of it was important in appreciating specific aspects of daily life. 48% judged it relevant to an understanding of the visual arts, 46% to classic English literature, 45% to British history, 42% to everyday phrases, 29% to politics, and 24% to classical music. In other words, majorities of varying sizes consistently said that the Bible was not relevant in these contexts.

Actual knowledge of the Bible was measured by asking respondents to identify the source of five quotations, all of which came from the Bible. While 56% knew that ‘my brother’s keeper’ (Genesis 4:9) derived from the Bible, only 19% could identify it as the source of ‘the writing on the wall’ (Daniel 5:5-6), 10% ‘filthy lucre’ (1 Timothy 3:3), 9% ‘eat, drink and be merry’ (Luke 12:19), and 7% ‘a drop in the bucket’ (Isaiah 40:15).

Between one-fifth and one-half could not even guess the origin of each quotation, but others happily plumped for the offered options of Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, The Beatles or Tony Blair. Biblical literacy was especially low among the under-34s and manual workers, and high among the over-65s and AB social group.

The full data tables from the poll, disaggregated by gender, age, social grade, region and employment sector, are available at:

http://www.comres.co.uk/biblesocietyinfluenceofthebiblemay11.aspx

These results come as Bible Society in England and Wales and the Scottish Bible Society prepare to launch The People’s Bible.  This will be touring the UK between June and November, providing the opportunity to re-engage or engage with the Bible for the first time. See:

http://www.thepeoplesbible.org

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I Believe in Angels – The Reality Behind the ABBA Lyrics

Posted on December 28, 2010 by Clive D. Field

It can often be an uphill struggle to engage the news media in positive stories about religion, especially where statistics are also involved! However, the Bible Society and Christian Research were clearly on to a real winner with their press release on 23 December about popular belief in angels.

Thanks to a Press Association wire, and the inclusion of some city results (albeit based on small cell sizes), the story was picked up by local and regional newspapers the length and breadth of the UK, and by some national and international media, also.

The original release is not yet available on the Bible Society’s website, so this post draws upon coverage in the Daily Mail, Daily Express, The Independent, The Yorkshire Post and The Scotsman, as well as on the full data tables generously made available to BRIN by Christian Research.

The enquiry reported on was an online survey commissioned by the Bible Society and conducted by ICM Research on 15 and 16 December among a representative sample of 1,038 adult Britons aged 18 and over.

Reminded that the Bible states that angels were used to communicate with various characters in the Christmas narrative, 31% of Britons said that they believed in angels, 51% disbelieved, while 17% did not know what to think.

The number of believers was identical to a YouGov enquiry in October 2004 but rather less than the two-fifths recorded by TNS in July 2007 and Ipsos MORI in August 2009.

As reported by ICM, belief was notably greater among women (40%) than men (23%), and it was also somewhat higher among the over-45s than those aged 18-44 and with manual workers rather than non-manuals. The regional high was in London (40%).

Slightly fewer (29%) thought that they had a guardian angel watching over them personally. 54% disagreed and 17% did not know. Demographic variations were similar to the first question, with believers most prevalent among Londoners (37%) and women and the 55-64s (36% each).

This figure of 29% was lower than obtained in four Ipsos MORI polls about guardian angels, between February 1998 and August 2009, in which belief ranged between 31% and 46%.

Despite the relative incidence of belief in angels, only 5% of respondents claimed that they had actually seen or heard one. No demographic sub-group attained double figures, apart from the East Midlands (12%), including 17% of those whose nearest city was Nottingham. 88% were certain that they had not experienced an angel, with 7% unsure.

Canon Dr Ann Holt, the Bible Society’s Programme Director, interpreted the findings as ‘a sign of a spiritual need within many of us’.

The ICM survey also included a question about nativity plays at school, in the face of mounting evidence that a combination of secularization and political correctness is slowly killing them off.

Only a minority (44%) of schools in England and Wales were planning one at Christmas 2004, according to an Ipsos MORI poll for The TES, and the proportion is thought to have declined further during the past six years.

79% of Britons interviewed by ICM favoured such plays being performed in schools, rising to 88% for those aged 45-54 or living in Eastern England. The lowest levels of support were found in multicultural London (68%) and among the 18-24s (71%).

According to a study by Research Now for the Bible Society and Christian Research in December 2009, about one-fifth of the population attends a nativity play each year, peaking with the 35-44s (the cohort most likely to have children of primary school age).

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Take Your Bible to Work Day

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Clive D. Field

In case you did not notice, last Monday (25 October) was the Bible Society’s ‘Take Your Bible to Work Day’, when Christians were asked to take a Bible to their place of employment as a statement of personal faith.

The day was conceived by the Society following a number of high-profile cases in which Christians found themselves in trouble for encouraging people to think about faith in God or for offering to pray with people in the workplace.

Ann Holt, the Society’s Director of Programmes, was quoted as saying: ‘while we recognise the plural nature of our culture, we are inviting people to take their Bible to work because we believe it is their right to do so in a free society. We believe the Bible’s message provides a framework for living the whole of life, and is not simply a resource for personal piety or a support for those who like religion.’

In connection with the day, the Society commissioned Christian Research and ICM to undertake an online survey among a representative sample of adult Britons. Fieldwork dates and sample size have not yet been reported by the Society.

According to the poll, while most Christians said they would feel fine in having their Bible at work, 43% would feel uncomfortable about actually getting it out to read during breaks and at lunchtimes, and almost a third were worried what work colleagues might think.

In fact, the survey found that only 14% of all workers expressed concern about Christian colleagues reading their Bible at work. Even 75% of atheists questioned said they would not consider it to be a problem. As many as half the workers claimed they would be happy to talk about the Bible with Christian workmates.

This post has been extracted from the limited information contained in the Society’s press release, available at:

http://www.biblesociety.org.uk/news/89/284/Take-Your-Bible-to-Work-Day/

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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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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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News from Christian Research

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Clive D. Field

On 18 January the Bible Society announced changes to its leadership team, one of which was the appointment of Stuart Rivers as Executive Director of Enterprises. He previously worked for Ericsson and, for the past four years, as an officer in the Salvation Army.

The Bible Society’s newly-created Enterprises Division subsumes its trading arm, Bible Society Resources Ltd., together with Christian Research and Christian Resources Exhibitions. It also manages the Society’s interest in the Theos public theology think tank, of which the Society is a major sponsor.

Christian Research, best known for its publication of the UK Christian Resources Handbook and Religious Trends, has its roots in the Bible Society during Dr Peter Brierley’s time as the Society’s programme director.  

It was then established as a separate entity, led by Peter, first as MARC Europe (1982-93) and then as Christian Research. On Peter’s retirement in 2007 it was merged into the Bible Society. In retirement, Peter runs Brierley Consultancy.

Now under the direction of Benita Hewitt, Christian Research provides a range of services to its members and undertakes quantitative and qualitative research, both for the Bible Society and other Christian clients.

Two of Christian Research’s current initiatives are ChurchCheck, a mystery visitor service provided in association with Retail Maxim; and Faith Journeys, the first detailed quantitative investigation of faith development among UK Christians since John Finney’s Finding Faith Today (1992).

Further information about Faith Journeys, including interim statistical findings, may be found at http://www.faith-journeys.com. A substantial feature article about the project by Jenny Williams also appeared in the Baptist Times for 3 December 2009.

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Faith and the environment

Posted on January 17, 2010 by Clive D. Field

The Bible Society has released the results of a small-scale poll of the attitudes of religious people towards the environment. Seven in ten believe that caring for the environment is part of their religious duty.

The Society’s press release will be found at: http://www.biblesociety.org.uk/news/49/84/The-Bible-matters-when-it-comes-to-the-environment/

The poll was conducted via Faithbook, an interfaith social networking site on Facebook, which was set up by Global Tolerance in 2008 to improve interfaith relations and tackle extremism on the web.

Faithbook used Survey Monkey to collect the data.

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