Church Growth and Social Action

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Clive D. Field

93% of Anglican clergy agree that ‘engaging with the poor and marginalised in the local area is a vital activity for a healthy church’, and yet only 44% admit that ‘tackling poverty is a fundamental part of the strategy of our church’, notwithstanding that 81% identified at least one significant or major poverty-related problem in their parish.

These are three of the many statistics to be found in Growing Church through Social Action: A National Survey of Church-Based Action to Tackle Poverty, published on 6 February 2012 and written by Benita Hewitt of Christian Research Consultancy (not to be confused with Christian Research, for which she used to work) on behalf of the Church Urban Fund (CUF).

The data derive from an online survey of 2,927 Church of England clergy in December 2011, of whom 865 (or 30%) responded. Their churches were broadly representative of all Anglican places of worship in England in terms of churchmanship, location and congregational size.

Although one-half of churches had increased their efforts to alleviate local poverty during the past five years, three-quarters accepted that they could be doing more. Seven-tenths anticipated doing more over the next five years, especially in the area of family breakdown/poor parenting and debt, but there were many perceived hindrances to such activity. Not least were a lack of volunteers (64%) and leaders (64%), pressures on church leaders (58%), and shortage of finance (55%).

A majority of clergy believed that tackling poverty locally contributes to a more outward-looking church (79%), a deeper understanding of God’s purpose (76%), and improved relations with other local organizations (71%), the wider community (71%) and within the church (57%). A significant minority linked tackling local poverty with increased giving (33%) and more worshippers (28%).

The church growth dimension was tested by Hewitt, who analysed changes in congregational size during the previous five years against the extent of a church’s efforts to address local poverty. She found that ‘the churches doing most to serve those affected by poverty are much more likely to be growing. Conversely, only a tenth of the most active churches have declined in numbers, compared with nearly a third of churches that are not doing anything to meet local needs.’

‘Overall the survey strongly suggests that churches that are most actively engaged in serving those impacted by poverty in their communities tend to be healthier and more attractive than others, and that the churches which are least healthy are those that are aware of significant local problems but are doing little or nothing in response.’

The full report is available at:

http://www.cuf.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/Quantitative_report_FINAL2.docx

and a four-page summary at:

http://www.cuf.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/Growing-Church-through-social-action-quantitative-new.pdf

The research project also included a qualitative phase, involving in-depth interviews with eight Anglican clergy who had successfully transformed neglected and poorly-attended churches in deprived areas ‘through committed and entrepreneurial leadership, combined with a willingness to discover community needs’.

For a previous CUF survey of clergy attitudes to poverty, based on a much smaller sample, see our post at:

http://www.brin.ac.uk/news/2012/christian-attitudes-to-poverty/ 

 

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Religious Hate Crime, 2010-11

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Clive D. Field

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecuted 566 cases of religious hate crime in England and Wales in 2010-11 (roughly three times the figure for 2007-08) and secured convictions in 472 or 83% of them.

The success rate was proportionately similar to 2009-10 but represented a 94% increase in convictions. The number of guilty pleas entered was 7% up, having fallen since 2007-08.

Nevertheless, religious hate crimes still accounted for only 4% of all hate crimes prosecuted in 2010-11.

The number of religiously-motivated crimes referred to the CPS by the police also grew between 2009-10 and 2010-11, by 45%.

These findings are extracted from Hate Crime and Crimes against Older People Report, 2010-2011, released by the CPS last month and available at:

http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/docs/cps_hate_crime_report_2011.pdf

This is the first time that the CPS has separately published data on religiously aggravated crime, although most of the key disaggregations (both in the report and in accompanying worksheets on the CPS website) are still recorded for racial and religious hate crime combined, which will be too broad a category for many BRIN users.

It will be appreciated that the upward trend in prosecutions and convictions for religious hate crimes since 2007-08 does not necessarily mean that there are actually more offences of this sort being committed. Almost certainly, it mainly reflects a greater preparedness of victims to report such crimes and of the police and CPS to identify a religious (as opposed to another) motivation.

 

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Faith and Charity

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Clive D. Field

Religious people give more than twice as much money to charity as those without a faith, according to a Press Association release on 18 February 2012 which has informed coverage in the national and local media.

The underlying data derived from the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF)’s 2011 Market Tracker Report, which asked 507 donors giving at least £50 to charity a year a variety of questions about their charitable habits.

The CAF found that the average amount given to charity by those who were religious was £576 over the previous twelve months, compared to £235 contributed by those of no faith, demonstrating a ‘culture of giving within religious circles’.

Neither did it follow that religious donors were disproportionately interested in giving to religious causes. In fact, only 31% of them had supported a religious activity, against 68% donating to medical charities and 48% to overseas aid.

The latter two categories were also the most popular choices for those of no faith. As a CAF spokesperson said: ‘If anything, people of faith broadly give in line with the rest of the general public – to a variety of different appeals.’

 

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YouGov’s Religion Barometer

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Clive D. Field

Twice as many adults think that Britain today is too secular as deem it too religious, but just over one-half believe that religion in Britain is in terminal decline and that religion in general is more often a cause of evil than of good in the world.

These are some of the key findings from the latest YouGov survey for The Sunday Times, and published today. Online interviews were conducted with a sample of 1,772 Britons aged 18 and over on 16 and 17 February 2012. Data tables can be found at:

http://cdn.yougov.com/cumulus_uploads/document/6195qkb1kr/YG-Archives-Pol-ST-results-17-190212.pdf

The first of eight questions on religion was ‘Do you think that religion is more often the cause of good or evil in the world?’ Only 12% elected for good, and no more than 17% in any demographic sub-group. 58% opted for evil, with the main variation being by gender (61% of men, 54% of women). 27% said that neither answer applied or both equally.

With regard to religion in Britain, 17% viewed Britain today as too religious, 36% as too secular, 31% as balanced between religious and secular, and 17% expressed no opinion. Men and the under-40s were marginally more likely to describe Britain as too religious, Conservatives, the over-60s and Londoners as too secular.

49% agreed that religion still provides critical guidance for our everyday lives, with 40% dissenting and 12% unsure. The age cohort with the lowest level of agreement was 25-59 years (43%). While the peak of 61% among the over-60s was to be expected, less predictable was the 50% recorded for the 18-24s.

Respondents were next asked whether the Church of England continues to carry out a valuable role, a question obviously prompted by Her Majesty the Queen’s speech at Lambeth Palace on 15 February.

YouGov’s respondents were split on this issue, with 42% agreeing, 41% disagreeing, and 16% unsure. Most support for the Church came from Conservative voters (55%), partially justifying ‘the Tory Party at prayer’ sobriquet; least backing was found in Scotland (32%).

Since the Church of England is established (albeit only in England), it might seem slightly odd that 67% contended that religion should have no place in public life, being entirely a personal matter. Even Conservatives showed no deviation from this norm. 24% wanted religion to have a role in the public square, including 28% of the 18-24s.

51% assessed that religion in Britain is in terminal decline, with no great fluctuation by demographics. 24% disagreed and 26% did not know what to think, the largest proportion of undecided for any of the questions in this survey.

Belief in God stood at 38%, with 21% unsure, and 33% disbelieving. Believers were twice as numerous among Conservatives (45%) as Liberal Democrats (22%), and they were also somewhat concentrated in the over-60s (44%) and in Scotland (45%).

The final topic, triggered by the Bideford case, was whether local councils should be able to hold prayers at the beginning of their meetings. 53% of adults thought that they should (peaking at 66% of Conservatives and 65% of over-60s), 32% that they should not, with 15% undecided.

The pro-prayer lobby of 53% is consistent with the 55% figure obtained in another recent poll on the same subject, covered by BRIN at:

http://www.brin.ac.uk/news/2012/council-prayers/

All in all, this YouGov survey for The Sunday Times exemplifies the continuing hybrid of religiosity and secularity which characterizes British life. While the proponents of faith and non-faith progressively ‘up the ante’, public opinion declines to be completely and consistently polarized between the rival camps.

 

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Council Prayers

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Clive D. Field

In yet another paradox of public attitudes to religion, 55% of Britons agree that local councils should be allowed to hold prayers as part of formal council meetings, even though an identical proportion personally believe that councils should not hold such prayers, according to new research by YouGov and posted at:

http://cdn.yougov.com/cumulus_uploads/document/pe06bnkf18/YG-Archives-YouGov-ChristianCountryPrayers-160212.pdf

The online survey, in which 1,828 adults aged 18 and over were interviewed on 14-15 February 2012, was conducted in the aftermath of the recent (10 February) High Court judgment against Bideford Town Council that prayers held as part of its official business are not permitted under the Local Government Act 1972. The Council has voted to appeal the decision.

Meanwhile, Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary, has fast-tracked an Order under the Localism Act 2011 which will effectively nullify the High Court ban by authorizing councils to exercise a ‘general power of competence’. The National Secular Society, which was a party in bringing the action against Bideford, is consulting its lawyers and apparently contemplating a fresh legal challenge.

Asked whether councils should hold prayers during their formal meetings, only 26% of YouGov’s respondents were in favour, 55% against, and 20% uncertain. Support for prayers was strongest among the very/fairly religious (52%), Christians (46%), the over-60s (40%), those considering that Britain should be a Christian country (40%), and Conservatives (34%).

However, irrespective of their personal view about whether councils should hold prayers, 55% thought that they should definitely be allowed to hold them, rising to 78% of Christians, 76% of the very/fairly religious, 72% of those wanting Britain to be a Christian country, 67% of over-60s, and 66% of Conservatives. Just 34% argued that councils should not be allowed to have prayers, with 11% expressing no opinion.

Another seeming contradiction surfaced in the poll was that, although only 24% of the sample described themselves as very or fairly religious and 43% regarded themselves as belonging to a religion, 56% agreed that Britain is a Christian country and 61% that it should be a Christian country.

Endorsement of the proposition that Britain should be a Christian country was highest among professing Christians (88%), the very or fairly religious (79%), over-60s (79%), and Conservative voters (77%). Dissentients numbered 22%, with 18% undecided.

What was especially interesting was that even 37% of those who considered themselves as not at all religious and 44% of those having no religion wanted Britain to be a Christian country. 41% and 43% respectively agreed that it already is such a country. 36% and 40% also thought that councils should be permitted to hold prayers before their formal meetings.

The irreligious, it therefore seems, can be just as equivocal about their ‘belief’ as the many self-identifying Christians whose lack of commitment to the faith was exposed in the Ipsos MORI poll for the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (UK), and published last Tuesday.

As the proponents of faith on the one hand and secularism and rationalism on the other assume increasingly entrenched positions about the place of religion in national life, perhaps all parties need to understand that the great British public do not see things in quite such black and white terms.

The reality of public opinion is that religious beliefs and attitudes can be messy, fuzzy and – sometimes – contradictory, as they probably have been for generations past. The simplistic rhetoric of much current ‘debate’ may be in danger of obscuring this empirical complexity.

 

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Census Christians

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Clive D. Field

‘UK residents who think of themselves as Christian show very low levels of Christian belief and practice’ and ‘are overwhelmingly secular in their attitudes on a range of issues from gay rights to religion in public life’, according to research released yesterday (14 February 2012) by the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (UK).

The study was conducted for the Foundation by Ipsos MORI through face-to-face interviews with UK adults aged 15 and over between 1 and 7 April 2011, immediately after the decennial population census schedules had been completed, including the voluntary question on religious profession, which was being posed for the second time.

Ipsos MORI’s main questionnaire was directed to the 1,136 individuals (equivalent to 54% of the full screening sample of 2,107) who said that they were recorded as Christians in the census by the person completing the household schedule – or would have recorded themselves as Christians if they had answered the question themselves. The Foundation characterizes them as ‘Census-Christians’, and the following topline data relate exclusively to this sub-sample.

RELIGIOUS IDENTITY

45% regarded themselves as a religious person, but 50% did not. More nuanced answers emerged from another question in which 30% considered themselves to have strong religious beliefs and to be a Christian, 29% to be a Christian but not to have strong beliefs, 19% to have been brought up to think of themselves as a Christian but not to have strong religious beliefs, 12% not to be religious at all, and 8% as spiritual rather than religious.

Asked why they were recorded, or would have recorded themselves, as Christian in the 2011 census, 41% said that they tried to be a good person and associated that aspiration with Christianity, 31% that they genuinely attempted to follow the Christian religion, 26% that they had been brought up as Christian even though they were not religious now, 6% that they had ticked the option automatically without thinking, 5% that they felt uncomfortable about the growing influence of other religions, and 4% that Christian was another way of expressing their Britishness.

In reply to a different question, 40% equated being a Christian to being a good person, against 24% who mentioned upbringing, and 22% who spoke in terms of belief in Jesus Christ.

Quizzed more generally why they identified themselves as Christian, 72% cited baptism, 38% parental affiliation, 37% their Sunday school attendance as a child, 28% their belief in the teachings of Christianity, 21% their education in a Christian school, 19% their previous churchgoing, 19% their current churchgoing, and 13% their partner’s Christianity (multiple responses were possible).

35% said that, as a child, they had learned most about Christianity from a church or Sunday school, 30% from their parents or family, and 29% from their school.

Although 60% claimed that Christianity was important in their life, 81% said that it had no influence on their social networks, 69% no influence on their choice of marriage partner, and 78% no influence on which candidate they would vote for in a general election. 

RELIGIOUS BELIEFS

54% believed in God (two-thirds of whom said that Christianity is just one way, rather than the only true way, of knowing Him), 32% thought of God in terms of the laws of nature or some kind of supernatural intelligence, and 6% disbelieved.

44% regarded Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the saviour of mankind, 32% as a man and role model, 13% as a mere man, with 4% disbelieving in His existence.

32% believed in the physical resurrection of Jesus, 39% in His spiritual but not physical Resurrection, with 18% disbelieving in the Resurrection.

20% did not believe in heaven and 40% did not believe in hell, versus 63% and 41% who did believe (completely or to some extent). There was a strong attachment (64%) to fate and, to a lesser extent, to other alternative belief systems.

RELIGIOUS PRACTICE

29% claimed to have attended a Christian church service (other than a rite of passage) at least once a month during the previous year, but 49% had not worshipped during the year (two-thirds of whom had not been to church within the past five years or had never been).

27% stated that they had participated in some religious activity remotely during the past month, for example by watching or listening to a religious broadcast on television, radio or the internet, or by receiving a home visit from a member of their church pastoral team. 17% had so participated between one month and one year previously, but 53% not at all during the past twelve months.

35% prayed independently and from choice (i.e. when not at church) once a week or more, 25% less frequently, and 37% never or almost never. 21% did not even believe in the power of prayer compared with 63% who did.

15% had read the Bible independently and from choice within the last week, 32% within the last month or up to three years ago, 36% more than three years ago, and 15% never. Reflecting this limited acquaintance with the scriptures, just 35% of these Christians correctly named the first book of the New Testament.

ATTITUDES TO MORALITY

23% viewed the Bible as a perfect guide to morality, 42% as the best guide even though some of its teachings are inappropriate today, and 24% argued that there were better ways of knowing right from wrong.

In determining right from wrong, 54% mostly looked to their own inner moral sense, 25% to family and friends, and only 10% to their religion.

On specific matters of morality more of these self-identifying Christians took a ‘liberal’ than a ‘traditional’ stance, with 63% endorsing abortion, 61% full legal equality between homosexuals and heterosexuals, 59% assisted suicide, 57% extra-marital sex, and 46% homosexual relations.

ATTITUDES TO RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

54% supported state-funded faith schools for their denomination, 53% for any Christian denomination, and 44% for any religion (opponents numbering 16%, 15%, and 23%). However, almost as many opposed (36%) as endorsed (39%) the statutory requirement that children in state-funded schools should participate in a daily act of broadly Christian worship.

15% wanted religious education in state-funded schools to teach children to believe Christianity, 8% to teach children to believe whatever faith the school subscribed to, 7% to teach knowledge of Christianity but not of other faiths, and 57% to teach knowledge of all world faiths even-handedly.

38% did not want creationism to be taught in science lessons in state-funded schools against 31% who took the contrary line, with 29% uncertain.

ATTITUDES TO RELIGION IN PUBLIC LIFE

78% agreed that religion should be a private matter and that governments should not interfere in it, while 74% did not want religion to have any special influence on public policy. Nevertheless, 32% still agreed (and 46% disagreed) that the UK should have an official state religion. 92% contended that the law should apply to everybody equally, regardless of their religious beliefs.

Only 26% favoured the continuing presence of Anglican bishops in the House of Lords (32% against) and 32% the cost of hospital chaplains being met from NHS budgets (39% opposed).

SUMMATION

These results suggest that there may have been a dramatic ten-year fall in the number of professing Christians in the UK, from 72% in the 2001 census to 54% today. It remains to be seen whether this finding will be validated by the 2011 census data when they are eventually published. As BRIN has consistently noted, the measurement of religious profession is notoriously difficult, and differing methodologies and question-wording produce different results. Other Government sources, such as the Integrated Household Survey, still point towards quite high levels of ‘cultural Christianity’.

The ‘revelation’ that many who claim to be Christian fall short of Christian ideals in terms of their practices, beliefs and attitudes is not especially surprising. It has been documented in a wealth of studies since sample surveys began in Britain. Mass-Observation’s report into Puzzled People in Hammersmith in 1944-45 was one of the first to document some of these inherent contradictions in popular religion. Nonetheless, the Ipsos MORI data are helpful in quantifying systematically, and within a census context, the wide variation in the extent to which Christianity impacts upon, and has real meaning in, the everyday lives of Christians in the UK.

Ipsos MORI’s press release, topline results, and full computer tabulations (extending to 366 pages!) will be found at:

http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/2921/Religious-and-Social-Attitudes-of-UK-Christians-in-2011.aspx

Two press releases about the survey from the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science are available at:

http://richarddawkins.net/articles/644941-rdfrs-uk-ipsos-mori-poll-1-how-religious-are-uk-christians

http://richarddawkins.net/articles/644942-rdfrs-uk-ipsos-mori-poll-2-uk-christians-oppose-special-influence-for-religion-in-public-policy

A commentary on the statistics by the think-tank Ekklesia is at:

http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16278

and by the National Secular Society at:

http://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2012/02/poll-reveals-majority-of-christians-support-secular-outlook

Coincidentally, the Ipsos MORI results appeared on the same day that the Conservative Muslim peer, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, who is currently leading the largest ministerial delegation from the UK to the Vatican (reciprocating the papal visit to Britain in 2010), wrote an article in the Daily Telegraph entitled ‘We Stand Side by Side with the Pope in Fighting for Faith’ and criticizing ‘militant secularisation’.

The newspaper took the opportunity to run an instant online poll of its readers (obviously, being a self-selecting sample not necessarily representative of that readership, still less of the national population). By 10 pm on 14 February 13,493 votes had been cast, with the following (and perhaps surprising) pattern of responses to the question ‘Are you worried by the threat of militant secularism in Britain?’:

  • Marginalising religion is a form of intolerance seen in totalitarian regimes – 17.3%    
  • People should worship in private and not display religious symbols in public – 14.6%    
  • People should feel proud to worship in public and display their faith – 12.7%   
  • Secularisation is not a threat to this country – 55.4%   

 

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Pray and Display

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Clive D. Field

Cash-strapped local authorities are looking at every conceivable way of trimming their costs, and some of their measures have been impacting and aggravating faith communities in recent months, such as through the withdrawal of free transport for pupils attending faith schools.

Since last summer, when Westminster led the way (albeit it was forced to rescind its own plans on 19 January 2012 in the face of strong opposition, including from Churches), city councils up and down the land have been planning to raise additional revenue from car parking charges, both on street and in car parks, especially in the evenings and on Sundays.

The trend was highlighted in the Sunday Times of 22 January 2012 in an article entitled ‘Councils Cash in on Sunday Parking’. This was underpinned by a YouGov poll commissioned by the newspaper in which 70% of the 1,711 adult Britons interviewed online on 19 and 20 January said that councils were not justified in charging for parking on Sundays. Opposition rose to 78% among the over-60s, the age cohort which contains a disproportionate number of churchgoers (although it is naturally not suggested that this was the sole or main motive for this oldest group objecting to paying for parking on Sundays).

The problem for the Churches is that there are still many historic places of worship in city centres, whose congregations are not primarily local, but come from a distance, often by private transport. Sunday parking charges, therefore, may conceivably affect both the quantum of worshippers they attract and the amount of money in the ‘collection plate’. It is sometimes alleged that Sunday car parking fees are ‘a tax on churchgoing’.

Are these fears well-founded? Unfortunately, there is little evidence to show, as yet, since the planned charges have often not come into operation. One small piece, however, derives from Nottingham, where charges for Sunday parking were introduced on 20 November 2011. A report in the Catholic Herald for 3 February 2012 quotes the Dean of St Barnabas Roman Catholic Cathedral as saying that, as a direct result of the parking fees, its congregations are down 10% and its monthly income by £2,000. 

Some towns, of course, have long charged for the use of their car parks on Sundays. A row of a different sort erupted last year when it emerged that Woking District Council had been allowing worshippers at three central churches to park in its Victoria Way and Brewery Road car parks on Sundays for free since 2003, even though shoppers had to pay. A request under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that £55,864 had thereby been saved by these worshippers between 1 January 2009 and 30 June 2011. The scheme, which was denounced by the National Secular Society as a potential breach of the Equality Act, is currently under review by the council.  

 

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Christian Families

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Clive D. Field

‘Christian marriages are messy but have a higher chance of success’, the Evangelical Alliance claimed on 7 February 2012, in releasing (to coincide with Marriage Week) its latest report in the 21st Century Evangelicals series, entitled How’s the Family? This can be downloaded from:

http://eauk.org/snapshot/upload/EA-FAMILY-REPORT-WEB-2.pdf

The same health warnings apply as to the earlier reports. As Greg Smith, the Evangelical Alliance’s research manager, concedes (page 5), the data derive from a self-selecting panel of evangelicals who have agreed to complete online surveys hosted by Survey Monkey. The sample may, therefore, not be representative of UK evangelicals as a whole, still less of all Christians. On this occasion 1,219 (or 40%) evangelical panellists responded in November 2011.

Key findings from the research include:

  • 72% of evangelicals lived in entirely Christian households, the remaining 28% in homes which contained some non-Christians
  • 22% of respondents were single, with 1.7 single females for every single man, rising to three to one for the over-55 singles
  • Reflecting this absence of eligible men in churches, 23% of women had married a non-Christian, while 87% of male evangelicals had married a Christian
  • Two-thirds of evangelicals were married, compared with 49% of the population as a whole, but the proportion was 80% for men and only 58% for women
  • The mean age of evangelical marriage was 25 for men and 24 for women, well below the national average
  • Just 13% of evangelicals had lived together as a couple before getting married, against three-quarters in one national survey
  • The proportion of divorced evangelicals was one-half the national average
  • Evangelicals were two-thirds less likely than all Britons to live in single-parent households (4% versus 12%)
  • 89% of evangelicals were happy in their marriage and only 4% unhappy; however, in mixed Christian/non-Christian relationships the happiness score fell to 66%
  • Evangelical marriages were not immune from difficulty: 29% of respondents had sought help in their marriage at some stage, 10% had been physically abused and 9% unfaithful
  • Of evangelicals with children aged over 11, 19% reported that the latter were not committed Christians, with the remainder having 1.3 committed Christian children each, less than the biological replacement rate
  • Over two-thirds of evangelicals strongly opposed Government plans to legislate for gay marriage

Other Christian attitudinal data on topics relating to marriage are available from the quick polls answered by subscribers to the Christian Connection dating website, which has been in the news recently.

These snapshots of opinion, branded as ‘voodoo polls’ by some, must certainly be taken as statistically illustrative rather than definitive. A selection of results appears below, but for a complete list of questions and answers (covering other topics besides relationships), see: 

http://www.christianconnection.co.uk/polls

  • Should dating sites which promote adultery/extra-marital affairs be banned? Yes 71%, not banned but should not be allowed to advertise publicly 13%, should be allowed without restriction 16% [6 January 2012, 855 votes]
  • Would you prefer to stay single than marry a non-Christian? Yes 62%, no 38% [24 November 2011, 1,315 votes]
  • What is the largest age gap you would accept in a relationship? Up to 5 years either way 27%, up to 10 years 39%, up to 15 years 12%, any age 22% [12 September 2011, 802 votes]
  • Is it reasonable or right for a single woman to have children via IVF treatment? Yes 12%, children need two married parents 50%, depends on the person and the circumstances 29%, all birth should be natural 9% [5 July 2011, 900 votes]
  • What is your view on sex before marriage? Sex belongs only within marriage 73%, sex is fine if within a loving and committed relationship 19%, unsure 7% [18 March 2011, 1,602 votes]
  • Should a Bed and Breakfast be allowed to prevent a gay couple in a civil partnership from sharing a bedroom? No 12%, yes 62%, Christians in that situation should be welcoming to all 27% [2 February 2011, 809 votes]
  • Should Churches devote a special Sunday to singles? Great idea 23%, not a particular Sunday but more focus generally 51%, might be a bit of a gimmick 19%, good idea but will never happen 8% [26 November 2010, 707 votes]
  • What type of Christian singles event would you most like to attend? Large party with music and dancing 16%, wine tasting 11%, pub quiz 46%, speed dating 12%, steer clear of singles events 16% [28 September 2009, 371 votes]
  • Do you feel it’s OK to date more than one person at a time? No 66%, fine if it’s just for the first couple of dates 20%, fine until you decide to ‘commit’ 9% [25 August 2009, 383 votes]

 

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Abu Qatada

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Clive D. Field

An overwhelming majority of Britons support the deportation to his native Jordan of Abu Qatada al-Filistini, the radical Muslim cleric implicated in Islamist terrorism, notwithstanding fears expressed by some that he may not receive a fair trial in his homeland.

This is according to a YouGov poll for today’s edition of The Sunday Times. A representative sample of 1,753 adults aged 18 and over was interviewed online on 9 and 10 February 2012. Data tables have been posted at:

http://cdn.yougov.com/cumulus_uploads/document/ly9ei68uye/YG-Archives-Pol-ST-results-10-120212.pdf

Abu Qatada has been in Britain since 1993, having been given asylum here in 1994 for reasons of religious persecution in Jordan. He has mostly been in British custody since shortly after 7/7 in 2005 but has been fighting deportation on human rights grounds.

Last week a High Court judge in a Special Immigration Appeals Commission ruled that Abu Qatada should be released on bail, to the fury of the UK Government and – it now seems – the general public, also.

70% of YouGov’s respondents opted for Abu Qatada’s deportation, regardless of whether he can be guaranteed a fair trial abroad. The over-60s and Conservative voters (82% each) especially clamoured for this.

20% wanted guarantees of a fair trial as a condition of deportation, with 18-24s (37%), Liberal Democrats (35%) and Londoners (30%) most in favour. Only 1% opposed deportation, with 9% unsure.

Confronted with the recent decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) that Abu Qatada should not be deported to Jordan as evidence obtained from torture might be used against him, 54% wanted Britain to ignore the ECHR and deport Abu Qatada. Again, Conservatives (67%) and over-60s (68%) took the strongest line.

A further 33% (including 48% of Liberal Democrats and the 18-24s and 45% of Londoners) considered that Britain ought to abide by the ECHR ruling but seek assurances from Jordan that evidence obtained by torture would not be used against Abu Qatada. In the light of the ECHR judgment, the number opposed to deportation grew to 4%, with 8% uncertain what should be done.

However, the greatest hostility toward Abu Qatada was reserved for the suggestion that, once bailed, he might go back on to state benefits, as he had been before his arrest in 2005.

82% of YouGov’s sample opposed this possibility, rising to 91% of Conservative voters and the over-60s. Just 12% (but 26% of Liberal Democrats, 25% of Londoners and 21% of 18-24s) felt he should be able to claim benefits.

The replies to this last question exemplify, not simply negativity toward radical Islam, but an increasingly hardening public attitude toward recipients of state benefits, which has become very noticeable since the onset of economic recession in 2008.  

 

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Catholic School Statistics, 2011

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Clive D. Field

A higher proportion of pupils at Roman Catholic schools come from the 10% most deprived areas than those attending English schools as a whole, the Catholic Education Service for England and Wales (CESEW) claimed in a press release on 30 January 2012, drawing on data from a Department for Education (DfE) study in 2009-10.

The release accompanied publication of the CESEW’s Digest of 2011 Census Data for Schools and Colleges, based on a 95% response to a survey of English and Welsh Catholic educational institutions in January 2011. It is available (together with the 2009 and 2010 digests) at:

www.cesew.org.uk/publications

The DfE data, summarized in appendix 4 of the 2011 Digest, revealed that 19% of pupils at Catholic primary schools lived in the 10% most deprived areas, compared to 14% of pupils at primary schools across England. At secondary level, 17% of pupils at Catholic schools lived in the 10% most deprived areas against 12% of pupils nationally.

The Service’s census enumerated 2,278 Catholic schools and colleges in England and Wales, 11 fewer than in 2010. 94% of these were in the maintained sector. Catholic schools represented 10% of all primary and secondary schools in England, but somewhat less (5% and 7% respectively) in Wales.

Catholic maintained schools were attended by 792,187 pupils in 2011, 1% more than returned in 2010. 71% of these maintained pupils were Catholics, albeit only 60% in Wales and 47% in sixth form colleges (moreover, in Catholic independent schools it was a lower proportion still, 38%). 78% of maintained pupils were white and 22% non-white.

The 39-page Digest contains a wealth of other statistics, besides those mentioned above, as well as sundry disaggregations by diocese. For pupils these include data on gender, withdrawal from collective worship, free school meals, looked after children, special educational needs, and post-16 retention.

Staff data, with breaks for Catholicity, are given for leadership teams, teachers, and support staff. Leadership teams are additionally profiled by gender and ethnicity; and teachers by possession of the Catholic Certificate in Religious Studies, incidence of teaching religious education, and ethnicity.

 

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