2011 Anglican Statistics and Other News

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Clive D. Field

As usual, there has been a lot of media interest today in the latest (2011) Statistics for Mission of the Church of England. They are always seen as something of a barometer of the spiritual state of England, and so it is appropriate that we give them a fair amount of space here, alongside five shorter items of religious statistical news.

Church of England statistics for mission, 2011

The Church of England has today released its Statistics for Mission, 2011, comprising 18 pages of tables with breaks to diocesan level and some national time series. This report (prepared by Archbishops’ Council, Research and Statistics), together with a brief press statement largely quoting the Bishop of Norwich on the more encouraging aspects of the data, can be found at:

http://www.churchofengland.org/media-centre/news/2013/05/church-annual-statistics-for-2011.aspx

The short-term picture, comparing 2011 with 2010, is a mixed but largely downbeat one, which has been the story for several years past. On the credit side, the best news was the 14.5% increase in Christmas Day attendance, albeit this must be attributed in large part to the very poor weather at Christmas 2010, which negatively impacted congregations, and to the fact that Christmas Day fell on a Sunday in 2011, which probably gave them a boost. Christmas Day communicants were up by 13.3%, for the same reasons. Usual Sunday attendance grew by 0.8%, but the report ascribes this to a new estimation process for filling in gaps on the parochial schedules. Baptisms and thanksgivings were up by 4.6% in total, including by 2.6% for infant baptisms, 7.5% for baptisms of children aged 1-12, and 44.5% for thanksgivings of children.

On the debit side, there were falls in average weekly attendance (-0.3%), average Sunday attendance (-1.2%), Easter Day attendance (-1.6%), Easter Day communicants (-0.7%), electoral roll (-0.1%), confirmations (-0.5%), marriages and blessings (-3.1%), and funerals (-2.7%, although deaths in England and Wales also fell, by 1.8%, during the year). The decreases in two of the three rites of passage must be particularly disappointing for the Church, for this is an area where it has been investing resource of late and has traditionally held sway, especially over the ‘nominals’, about whom we have heard much in recent weeks. Anglican infant baptisms now account for just 12.1% of live births and Anglican funerals for 35.7% of deaths.

These are naturally national trends, which conceal some diocesan variation. For example, the average all age weekly attendance figure ranged from an increase between 2010 and 2011 of 11.0% for Southwell and Nottingham to a decrease of 10.6% in Canterbury. Will the new Archbishop make a difference in the latter see? Well, he comes from Durham, which recorded a decline of 8.0%, so it is too soon to tell.

Taking a ten-year view (2001-11), which gives a better feel for real trends, the position is summarized in the table below, which will make for rather bleak reading for the Church, even bleaker if we factor in that the mid-year population of England grew by 7.9% over the decade (invariably making the relative decline greater than suggested by the absolute numbers).

 

2001

2011

% change
Average all age weekly attendance

1,205,000

1,091,500

-9.4
Average adult weekly attendance

976,000

874,600

-10.4
Average children/young people weekly attendance

229,000

216,900

-5.3
Average all age Sunday attendance

1,041,000

898,300

-13.7
Average adult Sunday attendance

868,000

763,300

-12.1
Average children/young people Sunday attendance

173,000

134,900

-22.0
Usual all age Sunday attendance

938,000

807,500

-13.9
Usual adult Sunday attendance

781,000

690,700

-11.6
Usual children/young people Sunday attendance

157,000

116,800

-25.6
All age Easter Day attendance

1,593,100

1,365,000

-14.3
Easter Day communicants

1,134,900

979,700

-13.7
All age Christmas Day/Eve attendance

2,608,000

2,618,000

+0.4
Christmas Day/Eve communicants

1,227,900

1,008,500

-17.9
Electoral roll

1,372,000

1,206,000

-12.1
Baptisms and thanksgivings

160,200

146,330

-8.7
Confirmations

33,367

22,242

-33.3
Marriages and blessings

63,600

55,540

-12.7
Funerals

228,000

162,530

-28.7

Google ties with religion

In the latest variant of a trust in organizations survey, Google and religious institutions shared fifth equal place, 17% of Britons aged 16 and over who were interviewed reckoning that each had their best interests at heart. The 2,000 respondents were invited to rank their top three institutions from a list of sixteen. Most trusted – despite its recent high-profile failings – was the National Health Service (37%), followed by police (26%), charities (21%), and – notwithstanding the horsemeat scandal – supermarkets (19%). Least regarded as having the public’s best interests at heart were politicians (3%), the media (6%), banks (7%), and lawyers (8%) also scoring badly. These findings were released by communications agency OMD UK on 30 April 2013 as an initial output from its ongoing ‘Future of Britain’ project, in collaboration with MMR Research. The trust in organizations table is reproduced on the Sky News website at:

http://news.sky.com/story/1084991/britons-trust-google-as-much-as-religion

Religious opposition to same-sex marriage

Religious opposition to same-sex marriage in Britain is reviewed by Steven Kettell in a new article entitled ‘I Do, Thou Shalt Not’ published on 2 May 2013 in the ‘early view’ online version of Political Quarterly. Developments in Scotland are covered as well as in England and Wales. Religious arguments against same-sex marriage are analysed, the author noting how relatively little they deploy theology but rather invoke secular justifications. Some use is made of opinion poll evidence, although – inevitably for an academic journal – this is not absolutely up-to-date. Unsurprisingly, Kettell concludes that religious opposition to same-sex marriage has failed, with broader implications for religion’s public role. This is a subscription title; for access options, go to:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-923X.2013.12009.x/abstract  

Equality and Muslims

Almost three-quarters of adults (73%, rising to 81% of over-60s) think it a very or fairly big problem in Britain that Muslim girls suffer discrimination at the hands of their own families by being told when to leave school and/or whom to marry, and 26% rate it as one of the most urgent problems facing the country (35% among the 18-24s and 34% among Conservatives and the highest income earners). By contrast, only 3% consider that unfair treatment of Muslim workers by their employers is an urgent problem (bottom of a list of ten equality challenges), with 73% contending that it is either not a problem at all or a fairly small problem (and 27% that it is a very or fairly big problem). These two questions were included in a survey of equality issues undertaken by YouGov for the YouGov@Cambridge think tank, with 1,925 Britons aged 18 and over being interviewed online on 25 and 26 February 2013. The detailed tables were released on 1 May and can be found at:

http://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/9a679g3m9i/YG-Archive-Cam-equality%20results-260213.pdf

National Jewish Community Survey

The Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR) launched the National Jewish Community Survey on 1 May, with the intention of collecting data which will complement the 2011 civilian census for ‘Jewish people living in Britain, irrespective of the nature of their Jewish identity and level of involvement in the community.’ In addition to probing Jewish identity, questions are being asked about the demographic profile and charitable behaviour of Jews. The survey, which is being funded by a consortium of Jewish community organizations and foundations, is being conducted online during May and June 2013 in association with Ipsos MORI. According to an interview given to the current issue (3 May 2013, p. 2) of the Jewish Chronicle, JPR is confident that its online methodology will not lead to under-representation of strictly Orthodox Jews ‘as Charedim have greater access to the internet than many people think’. Respondents to the survey will be recruited by invitation only, initially on a random basis, and will thus not be self-selecting. Further information about the survey is available in the FAQs posted at:

http://www.jpr.org.uk/downloads/census-faqs.pdf

BRIN on BRIN

The latest BRIN site traffic statistics, kindly collated by Siobhan McAndrew, demonstrate that usage of BRIN has continued to build since the official launch of the website just over three years ago. Since that time there have been 186,000 visits to the site by 152,000 unique visitors who have viewed 422,000 pages. Judging by their IP addresses, 70% of visitors are from the United Kingdom and 11% from the United States, although 187 different countries are represented in all. The majority of visitors (65%) arrive at the BRIN website via Google, but 13% key the BRIN URL directly, and a similar proportion come as referrals from other sites (of which guardian.co.uk heads the list). The most frequently accessed blog post to date was from 21 September 2010 on ‘How Many Muslims?’ which accounts for just over 3% of all BRIN page views.

 

Posted in church attendance, Historical studies, News from religious organisations, Religion and Ethnicity, Religion and Politics, Religion in public debate, Rites of Passage, Survey news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sunday Activities and Other News

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Clive D. Field

Today’s post highlights four recent opinion polls, touching on the use of Sundays, the religious state of Scotland, and reactions to the funeral arrangements for the late Baroness Thatcher.

Sunday activities

Sunday has largely become a day dominated by secular routines, according to an online survey conducted by OnePoll in late March 2013 (the week before Easter Sunday) on behalf of the pub chain Chef & Brewer, and kindly made available to BRIN by the Spirit Pub Company. The sample comprised 2,000 UK adults aged 18 and over. Of these, 62% said that they usually spent their Sundays catching up on domestic chores (36% stating they did the bulk of those chores on Sundays, and 41% that they would be ‘lost’ if they did not have Sunday as a catch-up day); 31% shopped (33% considering that Sunday opening of shops had made their lives easier); and 16% went to work.

The average number of ‘little jobs’ done on a Sunday was 16, with only 5% doing none and 39% performing eleven or more. The commonest chores included: washing up (42%), tidying up (41%), clothes washing (39%), hanging out washing (29%), drying up (29%), vacuuming (26%), and ironing (21%). Most time was reckoned to be taken up by tidying the house (30%) and cooking Sunday lunch (25%). Two-fifths (42%) felt annoyed that they never had chance to unwind and really relax on a Sunday, and 54% felt bogged down with the amount of jobs they had to do at the weekend.

Nevertheless, 53% described Sunday as mostly a day of rest for them (more so for men, 57%, than women, 49%), with 77% thinking that the balance of their day still inclined towards relaxation, and just 8% reckoning Sunday to be the busiest day of their week. For 60% Sunday provided an opportunity for spending quality time with friends and family, and for 42% to catch up on sleep. Some also recharged the spiritual batteries. Although, in reply to question 10, 15% claimed that they ‘usually’ went to a place of worship on Sunday, fewer (7%) admitted to worshipping ‘pretty much every Sunday’ in answer to question 4. The second figure is likely to be the more realistic; it represented 6% of men versus 9% of women, and 12% of the over-55s compared with around 5% of younger cohorts.

Scottish faith

Scotland, formerly renowned for its religiosity relative to England, continues to be in the grip of secularizing tendencies, according to the latest opinion poll, conducted by Panelbase for the Sunday Times Scotland and Real Radio Scotland. The sample comprised 1,002 Scots aged 18 and over interviewed online between 18 and 25 March 2013. Some results were published in two articles (by Jason Allardyce and Gillian Bowditch) in the Sunday Times Scotland for 31 March 2013, while the full data tables can be found at:

http://www.panelbase.com/news/Religionforpublication020413.pdf

Asked whether they ‘belonged’ to any religion, 39% of Scots said that they did not, including 54% of men aged 18-34 and even more, 60%, of women in the same cohort. Church of Scotland adherents numbered 32%, Roman Catholics 13%, other Christians 10%, and non-Christians 4%. Christians amounted to 55%, rising, for men, from 34% among the 18-34s to 70% of the over-55s, and for women from 33% to 78%. The proportion of Christians is ten points down on the 2001 population census, and the trend is expected to be confirmed when the 2011 Scottish census results are released later this year.

Less than one-third (30%) were convinced that Jesus Christ was a real person who died and came back to life and was the Son of God, the proportion being highest among Catholics (67%) and lowest for women aged 18-34 (17%). 44% answered the question in the negative (58% of men and 54% of women aged 18-34), and 27% were uncertain what to think.

Rites of passage excepted, two-thirds of the sample never attended public worship or had not done so for more than a year, peaking at 87% of those professing no religion and 74% of women aged 18-34. 8% claimed to have attended within the last week and a further 8% within the past month. The majority (77%) said that the resignation of Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the former leader of the Scottish Catholics, and his admission of sexually inappropriate behaviour would make no difference to their churchgoing, but 20% stated that they would now be less likely to attend church; there was no difference between Catholics and non-Catholics in this respect.

Unsurprisingly, 62% of all Scots wanted Pope Francis I to move the Roman Catholic Church in new directions (76% of Catholics), against 10% who desired him to maintain the Church’s traditional positions (18%), with 28% having no view (5%). Overall, 63% of Scots wanted the Church to get tougher with abusers (57% of Catholics), 61% to become more accepting of artificial contraception (55%), 55% to become more modern (54%), 54% to allow priests to marry (43%), 54% to become more open (53%), 44% to become more accepting in general (47%), 41% to become more accepting of homosexuality (27%), and 40% to become more accepting of abortion (18%).

Funeral of Mrs Thatcher

The country is as divided about the late Baroness Thatcher in the aftermath of her death as it was during her lifetime. One-half of the 1,893 British adults interviewed by YouGov online for The Sun on 8 and 9 April 2013 thought that it is right that she be given a full ceremonial funeral at St Paul’s Cathedral this coming Wednesday (17 April). Predictably, the proportion rose to 85% among Conservatives and 60% of UKIP supporters but dropped to 25% among Labour voters and 38% of Scots. Those thinking it wrong that she be given such a funeral numbered 32%, including 58% of Labourites and 45% in Scotland, with 18% expressing no view (possibly reflecting the fact that fieldwork took place in the immediate aftermath of Mrs Thatcher’s death, before people had the chance to think matters through). Full data table available on page 4 at:

http://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/jx8g4k4srj/YouGov-Sun-results-Thatcher-legacy-130409.pdf

A second YouGov poll, this time for the Sunday Times on 11 and 12 April 2013 among 1,981 Britons, asked a similar question but offered clarification of what was meant by a ‘ceremonial funeral’ at St Paul’s Cathedral (in contrast to a ‘state funeral’, as would be accorded to a monarch) and included different reply options. On this occasion, 42% of respondents preferred that Baroness Thatcher receive a ceremonial but not a state funeral, including 70% of Conservatives and 52% of Liberal Democrat and UKIP voters, and 73% of those who ranked Thatcher as ‘a great Prime Minister’. A further 8% (13% of Conservatives and 21% of those admiring her as ‘a great Prime Minister’) wanted her to have a state funeral, with 43% arguing that she should have neither a state nor a ceremonial funeral (70% for Labourites alone), and 8% undecided. Full data table on pages 21-2 at:

http://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/e4m8mi50q2/YG-Archive-Pol-Sun-results-120413.pdf

 

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Easter Day with the Sunday Times

Posted on March 31, 2013 by Clive D. Field

Just a fortnight after its last batch of questions on religion, the Sunday Times has taken advantage of its Easter Day publication to include another module in its weekly online omnibus poll conducted by YouGov. On this occasion, 1,918 Britons aged 18 and over were interviewed on 27 and 28 March 2013. Headline findings are shown below, with full data tables available at:   

http://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/j6bqjztt81/YG-Archive-Pol-Sunday-Times-results-280313.pdf

Dipesh Gadher has an article about the poll (‘Out-of-Touch Church Gets Public Warning’) in the print edition of today’s newspaper (p. 20 of the main section). This mentions that a similar poll was conducted for the Irish edition of the Sunday Times, among an Irish sample, but BRIN has yet to see this.

Importance of religion

31% say that religion is important in their own lives, and this is especially true of the over-60s (42%), Londoners (41%), and Christians (68%, with 82% for Catholics alone). The majority (66%) admits that religion is not important, the middle-aged (40-59 years) being particularly likely to say so (71%).

Generational change in religiosity

39% of respondents assess that they are less religious than their parents are or were, the number being highest among Liberal Democrat voters (46%), and among the over-60s and Scots (44% in each case). 10% feel they are more religious than their parents, including 15% of the 18-24s and Londoners, and 19% of Christians. Apart from the 10% who did not give an explicit answer, the remainder see themselves as equally religious (15%) or equally irreligious (27%) as their parents.

God

38% say they believe there is a God, disproportionately women (44%, against 32% of men), over-60s (48%, compared with 29% of 18-24s), and Christians (77%, including 86% of Catholics). A further 21% do not believe in a God but do believe there is some sort of spiritual higher power, while 30% do not believe in either, and 11% are uncertain what to think.

Jesus Christ

30% accept that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (36% of women, 39% of over-60s, and 66% of Christians or 81% for Catholics alone). 39% think that He was probably not the Son of God but was nevertheless a real historical religious leader, leaving 13% who doubt His existence (23% of 18-24s, 18% of men, and even 2% of Christians) and 18% who hold other views or none at all.

Under one-third (31%) believe that Christ came back to life after His crucifixion, ranging by age from 19% of 18-24s to 42% of over-60s, with 68% for all Christians and 84% for Catholics. A plurality (47%) does not appear to believe in the Resurrection, becoming a majority among 18-24s (58%), men (56%) and Conservative voters (54%), with 22% undecided. A minority of Christians disbelieve – 16%, being 20% for Anglicans and 11% for Catholics. Believers in the Resurrection are much reduced from polls in the 1990s and 2000s, when the proportion averaged one-half.

Churchgoing

Apart from the rites of passage, 7% claim to attend a place of worship on a weekly basis (but 10% in London and among the over-60s and 18% for Christians) and a further 6% at least monthly. 29% say they go less frequently and 55% never, the latter figure being highest in Scotland (61%) and the Midlands and Wales(60%) and lowest for Christians (19%, particularly Catholics on 13%).

A religious country?

Only 29% consider that Britain can still be deemed a religious country, of whom one-quarter (7% overall but 13% of 18-24s and 11% of Scots) regard this as a bad thing. 16% assess that Britain is no longer a religious country and welcome the fact, including 22% of the 25-39 age cohort. 26% say that Britain is no longer religious but regret it, rising to 43% of prospective UKIP voters, 42% of Christians, and 39% of over-60s. 28% give other answers or none at all.

Trust in clergy

54% have a great deal or fair amount of trust in priests, vicars, and other clergy to tell the truth, rising to 73% among Christians, with 40% having little or no trust in them. Clergy are the sixth equal most trusted profession on a list of eighteen occupations, the range being from 83% for family doctors to 13% for estate agents.

Church of England

31% contend that the Church of England is doing a good job in providing moral leadership, over-60s (38%) and Christians (55%) being especially inclined to think so (54% for Anglicans). A majority (54%, including 65% of Liberal Democrats, who are committed to disestablishment, and 37% of Anglicans) rates it as doing a bad job, with 16% unsure.

Still more, 69%, feel that the Church of England is out of touch, with particular highs for UKIP voters (75%) and Scots (76%). Even 53% of Christians take this line. Just 21% of all adults view the Church as being in touch, and no more than 28% of over-60s and 41% of Anglicans. 10% express no opinion on the subject.

A plurality (49%) say the Church of England is wrong to oppose same-sex marriage, including 66% of 18-24s, 63% of Liberal Democrats, 60% of Scots, and even 37% of Anglicans. 37% support the Church’s position, with 57% for the over-60s and 52% of Anglicans. 13% are undecided.

78% feel that the Church of England should allow women bishops, including 89% of Liberal Democrats, 85% of Anglicans, 83% of Conservatives, 82% of women and Scots. Opponents of women bishops number 9% overall but 19% of Catholics, 15% of UKIP supporters, and 13% of Londoners. 13% do not know what to think.

Archbishop of Canterbury

Only 28% correctly identify Rowan Williams as the previous Archbishop of Canterbury, the best score – apart from Anglicans (and they only on 38%) – being recorded by Conservatives (35%). Ignorance is especially marked in Scotland (82%). Fewer (19%) can identify Justin Welby as the new Archbishop of Canterbury, leaving 81% unable to do so, including 71% of his own flock.

Pope

36% are optimistic that the new Pope, Francis I, will do a good job, with Catholics (71%), Christians generally (50%), Liberal Democrats (46%), Scots (44%), Londoners (43%), and over-60s (41%) most hopeful. Unsurprisingly, 53% are unable to express a view at such an early stage in his pontificate, albeit 11% have already seen, read or heard enough to predict that he will do a bad job (including 20% of 18-24s).

 

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Two YouGov Pre-Easter Polls

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Clive D. Field

Our focus today is on the headlines from two newly-released YouGov polls, one Easter-related and one not (being the latest instalment of data from the Westminster Faith Debates survey).

Easter observance

Around 6,000,000 British adults should be in church congregations in a few days’ time, on Easter Sunday, if they act upon the intentions announced in the latest YouGov EuroTrack survey, conducted online between 21 and 27 March 2013 among representative samples in Great Britain (n = 2,047) and six other western European nations, and published on 28 March. For 12% of Britons said that they planned to go to church on Easter Day, including – somewhat implausibly – 20% of non-Christians and 3% of those professing no religion.

The press release for the poll can be found at:

http://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/ksrmk6dw12/EuroTrackEaster.pdf

and the full data tables at:

http://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/eh65gpse1v/YG-Archive_Eurotrack-March-Cyprus-EU-representatives-Easter.pdf

The real number of Easter Day worshippers is likely to be an absolute maximum of half that six million. Unfortunately, the Church of England is the only major denomination routinely to report its Easter Day attendances, which were 1,395,000 in 2010 (the latest year available). However, this total will have included children and young people under 16, so the number of adults worshipping in Anglican churches on Easter Day was perhaps no more than 1,100,000. Even if we factor in other Protestants and Catholics, it seems hard to imagine that more than 3,000,000 British adults worship on Easter Day in a ‘good’ year (when the weather is favourable, which it certainly will not be in 2013), and perhaps considerably less.

As often happens with surveys on religion, therefore, YouGov’s respondents probably gave somewhat aspirational answers, reflecting what they felt they ought to be doing to celebrate this high point in the Christian calendar. Besides the 12%, a further 3% said that they would not go to church on Easter Day itself but would do so on another Sunday near Easter. The combined Easter churchgoing score of 15% reached 29% for Christians alone. The national figure was four points lower than in Germany (19%), equal to that in France, and higher than in Norway (13%), Denmark (11%), Sweden (10%), and Finland (10%).

Asked to identify the most important part of Easter for them, a plurality of Britons (47%) said spending time with friends and family, with still more (49%) for Christians alone. This was followed, a long way behind, by having time off work (19%) and, in third place, by the religious significance of the festival, the crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ (15%, albeit 30% for Christians). Even so, more chose the religious option in Britain than in any of the other six countries surveyed, France and Germany being closest on 13%, and falling to 5% in Denmark.

Remarkably few Britons (2%) selected exchanging Easter eggs as the most important part of Easter. Nevertheless, in a separate YouGov poll (undertaken on 26 and 27 March with a sample of 1,867), 60% of adults indicated that they expected to buy at least one large chocolate egg this Easter and 46% to eat at least one. A very keen 8% (which would certainly have included yours truly) thought that Easter eggs should be on sale throughout the entire year. These tabulations are online at:

http://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/8imm4jy58r/YG-Archive-Easter-results-130327.pdf

Family issues

The family-centric nature of Easter revealed in our first poll neatly aligns with the release, on 27 March, of the results from the family module of the YouGov survey commissioned by Linda Woodhead for the 2013 series of Westminster Faith Debates, in which 4,437 adult Britons were interviewed online between 25 and 30 January 2013. The data tables can be found at:   

http://cdn.yougov.com/cumulus_uploads/document/hai8zqy0i7/YG-Archive-University-of-Lancaster-300113-faith-matters-family-debate.pdf

and a press release at:

http://www.religionandsociety.org.uk/events/programme_events/show/press_release_westminster_faith_debate_4_old_tory_men_have_the_narrowest_view_of_family

The first question listed 13 different models of human relationships and asked respondents whether they considered each to constitute a ‘family’ or not. A majority were found to have a fairly narrow view of the family as a biological unit, such as married or cohabiting couples with children, but sizeable proportions also took a broader view of the family, including definitions which did not involve marriage or the presence of children.

People professing a faith differed little in their replies from the population as a whole, even when it came to definitions based on household units comprising same-sex couples with or without children. The main exception was the sub-set of the religious whose authority in life derived from God or religious teachings, who tended to take a narrow view of the family, whereas those having no religion inclined to take a broader view.

The second question outlined eight changes affecting the family and asked whether they were perceived as good or bad for society. In each case, a majority or plurality of replies opted for the neutral (neither good nor bad) position. However, it was noticeable that, with one exception, people of faith who currently engaged in some form of public religious activity took a more conservative line than adults in general. The percentages saying that each scenario was bad for society were as follows:

 

All adults

Religiously active
More women never having children

21

30
More unmarried couples raising children

22

37
More single women having children without a male partner

58

68
More gay and lesbian couples raising children

31

41
More people living together without getting married

18

35
More mothers of young children working outside the home

24

33
More people of different races marrying each other

9

8
More couples living ‘together apart’

38

48

This conservatism among the practising faithful is seen by the public particularly to play out in the relatively cool reception which most Christian churches in the UK are thought to give to lesbian, gay, and bisexual people (LGBs). Whereas 80% of all adults consider the churches to welcome married couples with children, 76% married couples without children, and 74% single persons, only 21% feel they embrace LGBs, with 53% claiming that churches are unwelcoming to LGBs. Three-tenths also believe churches are unwelcoming to divorced people.

Those without faith are especially critical of the lack of welcome perceived to be given to LGBs by the churches (62%), but even many of the religious seem to admit that the criticism is well-founded. Thus, 43% of the practising religious accept that churches are mostly unwelcoming to LGBs, six points more than deny it. In particular, majorities of both professing Catholics (58%) and practising Catholics (55%) agree that churches do not welcome LGBs, which is doubtless (in part) a reflection of the vigorous line which the Catholic Church has recently been taking against same-sex marriage.

 

 

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Scottish Social Attitudes and Other News

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Clive D. Field

Start your week with BRIN’s latest selection of British religious statistical news, comprising three sources of data on the contemporary scene plus a reassessment of religious belonging in the Edwardian era a century ago.

Scottish Social Attitudes Survey, 2011

The dataset for the 2011 (June-September) Scottish Social Attitudes (SSA) Survey was released by the Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS) on 20 February 2013 and can be interrogated by registered users via the ESDS Nesstar catalogue. The sample comprised 1,197 Scots aged 18 and over interviewed face-to-face by ScotCen Social Research.

The religion-related content was confined in 2011 to standard questions on religious affiliation and attendance at religious services. However, since the results for religion from the Scottish census of population in 2011 have yet to appear, it may be useful to note here the weighted SSA results for 2001 and 2011.

The SSA religious affiliation question (‘do you regard yourself as belonging to any particular religion?’) reveals that the majority (53%) of Scottish adults in 2011 professed no faith, up by 16% from 2001. The Christian share fell from 61% to 44% during the decade, mostly among the Church of Scotland (down from 36% to 22%). The details are given below: 

 

2001

2011
No religion

37

53
Church of Scotland

36

22
Roman Catholic

14

12
Other Christian

11

10
Non-Christian

1

3

Interestingly, claimed attendance at religious services showed less change between 2001 and 2011, albeit this is an indicator notoriously liable to inflated self-reporting. Nevertheless, regular (monthly or more) churchgoing reduced from 24% to 19%. 

 

2001

2011
Once a week or more

15

13
Once a month or more

9

6
At least once a year

14

10
Less often

3

4
Never/practically never

48

47
No religion/family religion

11

20

Evangelicals and education

Evangelical Christians ‘are a highly-educated group who appreciate and value the education they have received. Many are committed to lifelong learning and have undertaken study to better understand their faith and serve the Church. Significant numbers are involved in education as teachers, other staff or school governors.’

These are among some of the major findings in the latest report from the Evangelical Alliance’s 21st Century Evangelicals research programme, in which a self-selecting (and thus potentially unrepresentative) panel of evangelicals are periodically invited to complete an online questionnaire on selected topics. This particular survey was carried out in November 2012 and elicited 1,377 responses, 77% from persons with a university education. The report Do We Value Education? was published on 26 February 2013 and is at:

http://eauk.org/church/resources/snapshot/upload/Education-report-February-2013.pdf

The content of the survey is too extensive to summarize here. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that there was not complete unanimity among evangelicals about the role of religion in state schools. Although 69% agreed that all schools should have regular assemblies including a Christian act of collective worship, no more than 31% felt that religious education (with a predominantly Christian emphasis) should be a compulsory component of the curriculum for all children throughout their entire school life. This was far behind the figures for English language (82%), mathematics (76%), science (50%), physical education (39%), and computing and technology (48%).

When it came to faith schools, one-third failed to disagree with the proposition that they tend to divide communities in harmful ways, and no more than 52% agreed that church schools generally offer a higher standard of education than non-church schools. Somewhat controversially, 51% argued that church schools should always give priority in admissions to children from churchgoing families, despite the fact that 42% acknowledged that church schools do not seem to be doing a very good job at producing committed Christians among their students.

Halloween

Children’s engagement with and perceptions of the autumnal and now largely secular and commercialized festival of Halloween (abbreviated from All Hallows Eve, All Hallows being an alternative rendering of All Saints Day in the Christian calendar) are illuminated in a new article by Mark Plater: ‘Children, Schools, and Hallowe’en’, British Journal of Religious Education, Vol. 35, No. 2, 2013, pp. 201-17. This is available to subscribers or on a pay-per-view basis at:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01416200.2012.750594

Short questionnaires were completed in class in 2007 by 493 primary school pupils aged 7 (n = 127) and 11 (n = 366) in the London borough of Redbridge and Lincolnshire. The overwhelming majority of children were found to have participated in Halloween activities in some way in recent years, with 66% having significant and 23% some involvement. The combined figure of 89% ranged from 74% of those whose family background was religious to 93% in the case of non-religious. Participation was higher among pupils aged 11 (92%) than aged 7 (78%).  

The commonest Halloween activities reported by the children were: trick or treating (72%), dressing up for Halloween (70%), attending Halloween parties (57%), playing Halloween games (45%), watching scary movies (40%), walking around the streets in the dark (39%), and making Halloween-related artwork (39%). In 84% of families various forms of merchandise had been bought to support these activities at some point in recent years.

Most children (79%) said that they enjoyed Halloween but 9% did not (three-fifths of the latter being from religious families). Enjoyment was much higher in Lincolnshire (86%) than inner-city Redbridge (56%)  Asked to choose from a list of adjectives to describe Halloween, 74% selected positive (typically fun-scary and/or exciting) and 13% negative terms. Plater contrasts the relative enthusiasm of the pupils for Halloween with the reluctance of teachers to tackle it in the curriculum, which was revealed in his earlier research.

Edwardian religion

In his book Religion and Society in Twentieth-Century Britain (2006, pp. 40-87), Callum Brown characterizes Edwardian Britain as ‘the faith society’, in which there was a ‘buoyancy of Christian culture’, ‘religiosity marked the social values of almost the entire society …’, and ‘nearly every person would claim some attachment to a religion, most would be able to show an attachment to a church …’ These assertions are (partly) put to the quantitative test in a new article by Clive Field, ‘“The Faith Society”? Quantifying Religious Belonging in Edwardian Britain, 1901-1914’, Journal of Religious History, Vol. 37, No. 1, March 2013, pp. 39-63. The article can be accessed (on a pay-per-view basis) at:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-9809.12003/abstract

In this paper Field collates the extant statistical evidence for church attendance and church membership/affiliation in the years before the First World War. A mixed picture is reported, with elements of sacralization and secularization co-existing. Although churchgoing was already in relative and absolute decline, one-quarter of adults (disproportionately women) still worshipped on any given Sunday, and two-fifths at least monthly. Moreover, hardly anybody failed to be reached by a rite of passage conducted in religious premises. Only 1% professed no faith and just over one-half had some reasonably regular and meaningful relationship with organized religion in terms of church membership or adherence. For children, perhaps nine-tenths attended Sunday school, however briefly.

 

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Christmas and Other Themes

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Clive D. Field

Today’s ‘bumper’ round-up of religious statistical news features seven stories. Two are Christmas-themed; two summarize public attitudes to the religious dimensions of the same-sex marriage debate; two report on new research among Roman Catholics; and the last highlights reflections on the 2011 religion census of England and Wales by the Director of the AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society programme.

Churchgoing at Christmas

One-quarter of the national population claims they will attend a church service over the Christmas period this year (5% on Christmas Day itself, 11% on Christmas Eve, and 8% on another day around Christmas). The range is from 20% of men and residents of the Midlands and Wales to 30% of Londoners. Two-thirds say that they will not worship at Christmastide with one-tenth uncertain what they will do. Interestingly, when asked to indicate which of a list of Christmas Day activities they would pursue, an additional 2% (making 7% in all) mention going to church. Even so, apart from going to work (4%), this is the least favoured pastime on Christmas Day. Two-thirds anticipate singing Christmas carols over the festive period, women the most (51%) and men (31%) the least, closely followed by Scots on 32%. Among those with children under the age of ten, 45% expect them to take part in a nativity play, and 30% not. If past form is anything to go by, actual religious practices at Christmas will be significantly less than these aspirations.

Source: Online survey by YouGov for The Sun among 1,729 adults aged 18 and over in Great Britain on 9-10 December 2012. Data tables published on 14 December at:

http://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/tmd6ug984b/YG-Archive-Pol-Sun-results-101212-Christmas.pdf

Nativity knowledge

Britons’ knowledge of the nativity story is somewhat variable, according to a new survey. Asked ten specific questions about the first Christmas, on average they scored six out of ten, with 22% of parents and 18% of children scoring eight out of ten or more. The best-known facts about the nativity are that Jesus was born in Bethlehem (98%), Mary put the baby Jesus in a manger (89%), and that the Angel Gabriel told Mary she would give birth (83%). At the other end of the spectrum, only 14% knew that the three wise men travelled West following the star, 26% that Mary and Joseph were espoused (and thus not married) when she found out she was going to have a baby, and 32% knew that Immanuel means God is with us. A notable feature of the incorrect answers was the not infrequent appearance of Father Christmas, especially among parents’ responses. Over half of families (52%) said they planned to go to a school nativity play this year.

Source: Online survey by ICM Research on behalf of the Bible Society, undertaken between 6 and 12 December 2012 among approximately 1,000 parents of children aged 12 and under and 1,000 children. Full data tables are not yet available, but headline findings were reported on 17 December, notably in the online edition of the Daily Telegraph at:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/christmas/9748554/Scandal-of-Mary-and-Joseph-passes-most-Britons-by-as-they-place-Father-Christmas-by-the-manger.html

The Bible Society’s press release is at:

http://www.biblesociety.org.uk/news/children-and-parents-6-out-of-10-score-on-nativity-knowledge/

Same-sex marriage (1)

Three-quarters of the British public (73%) are in favour of the legalization of same-sex marriages, but they divide over whether religious organizations should be required to provide religious weddings for gay couples. Some 28% of the population feels that these organizations should be put under such an obligation, and this is especially the view of the 18-24s (44%) and Liberal Democrat voters and public sector workers (37% each). Legalization of same-sex marriage but without requiring faith bodies to offer religious ceremonies is backed by 45%, while 17% oppose same-sex marriage but countenance civil partnerships, and a further 7% are hostile both to same-sex marriage and civil partnerships.

Source: Telephone survey of 1,023 adults aged 18 and over in Great Britain, undertaken by Ipsos MORI on 8-10 December 2012 on behalf of Freedom to Marry. Full data table published on 11 December and available at:

http://www.ipsos-mori.com/Assets/Docs/Polls/gay-marriage-poll-tables-december-2012.pdf

Same-sex marriage (2)

The British public is evenly divided about whether ‘marriage is a sacred act between a man and a woman and cannot be a sacred act between same-sex couples’; 42% say yes and exactly the same number no, albeit over-55s (56%) and Conservative voters (52%) are more inclined to take the former view and under-35s (52%) and Liberal Democrats (50%) the latter. This is notwithstanding that 60% (and 73% of under-35s) indicate that they support the legalization of same-sex marriage (in a question worded differently to that in the Ipsos MORI poll, above), albeit it is not generally regarded by the public as a priority for Parliament.

A majority (53%) backs same-sex marriages in churches, provided that churches are willing to conduct such ceremonies, rising to 63% of under-35s and 61% of Liberal Democrats; 39% are hostile, including 53% of over-55s, and 9% undecided. Only 35% endorse the Government’s proposal to prohibit the Church of England from conducting same-sex religious marriages, the majority (54%, including 60% of under-35s and the AB social group) wanting to see Anglican clergy offering such ceremonies if in accordance with their individual consciences. At the same time, 58% believe the Church of England is entitled to oppose the whole concept of same-sex marriage (with 26% disagreeing and 16% unsure). 

Source: Online survey of 1,003 adults aged 18 and over in Great Britain, undertaken by Survation on behalf of The Mail on Sunday on 14 and 15 December 2012. Summarized in Simon Walters, ‘Britons Vote in Favour of Same-Sex Marriage’, The Mail on Sunday, 16 December 2012, p. 13, available at:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2248833/Britons-vote-favour-sex-marriage-Public-backs-PM-gay-marriage-says-hes-doing-trendy.html

Full data tables located at:

http://survation.com/2012/12/same-sex-marriage-public-opinion-political-fall-out-survation-for-the-mail-on-sunday/

Bible engagement

Roman Catholics have a relatively low level of engagement with the Bible, according to a new survey. Of those who attend Mass once a month or more, 57% do not read the Bible week-by-week outside of a church setting. This is despite the fact that around two-thirds of them contend that the Bible has something useful to contribute to contemporary life and society, and that one-third assert that a passage in the Bible directly influenced a decision they made in the past week. For Catholics who worship less frequently than monthly or not at all, 81% seldom or never read the Bible. Less than half of both groups of Catholics feel confident about describing five specific passages from the Bible, with familiarity greater among Catholics aged 18-34 than their older co-religionists.

These findings are consistent with a ‘meta analysis’ of over 150 British sample surveys relating to the Bible and undertaken since 1945, which the present writer has almost completed, one of whose findings is: ‘Protestants in general and Free Church affiliates in particular are more Bible-centric than Catholics (apart from some indicators of literalism)’. Indeed, the faith of Catholics seems to be as much underpinned by the teachings and authority of the Roman Catholic Church as by the foundational text of Christianity.

Source: Survey of 1,012 self-identifying Roman Catholics aged 18 and over undertaken by Christian Research between 17 November and 4 December 2012, and on behalf of the Bible Society, in partnership with the Home Mission Desk of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. The sample divided between 502 Catholics who said that they attended Mass once a month or more and 510 who went less frequently or never. Headline findings are contained in a press release from the Bishops’ Conference dated 7 December, two days before Catholic Bible Sunday, and available at:

http://catholic-ew.org.uk/Home/News-Releases/Catholic-Bible-Engagement

Roman Missal

It is just over a year since Catholic parishes in English-speaking countries started to use the revised English translation of the Missale Romanum edition tertia, which aimed to offer a more literal rendition of the Latin, replacing the translation introduced after Vatican II, with its emphasis on capturing the sense of the words. However, initial responses to the new Missal among the faithful seem to have been decidedly mixed, according to one local survey. In it only 22% described the general experience of their parish with regard to the Missal as positive, with 31% neutral, and 42% negative. Factoring in their personal views brought the negative total to 45%, with 28% positive, and 25% neutral. This underwhelmed reaction is despite the fact that 83% claimed to have been at least somewhat prepared for the new translation, the most common forms of catechesis being at Mass (69%), the parish newsletter (50%), and from a priest or deacon (41%). Pew cards (71%) and parish leaflets (30%) were commonly made available as ‘people’s aids’ at Mass. Qualitative data were collected alongside the statistics, it being noted that ‘concerning the language of the people’s responses and prayers, a panoply of [negative] adjectives and descriptors that would be the envy of Roget’s Thesaurus is wheeled into line’.

Source: Survey conducted by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth between 1 January and 30 April 2012. The survey form was posted on the diocesan website and was thus accessible to people from outside the diocese. Although the majority of the replies came from within the diocese, a significant number came from elsewhere (mainly Northern England). They were received, either in written form or as email attachments, from a self-selecting sample of both laity and clergy. ‘There is no indication of any particular group with an agenda “packing” or skewing the responses’. Even though statistics are cited to two decimal places, the number of respondents (307) is not specified until the very last page of Paul Inwood’s summary of the survey, which can be found at:

http://www.portsmouthdiocese.org.uk/userfiles/Diocesan%20Missal%20Survey%20analysis%20and%20narrative%20report.pdf

The weekly Catholic magazine The Tablet is currently running an online survey on the same subject. To participate, go to:

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/page/survey

Religious census

The religious life of the country is more diverse and complex than a superficial reading of the 2011 census data for England and Wales might suggest, according to the latest commentary on the initial results which were released a week ago. In particular, there is no hard-and-fast fault-line between ‘Christians’ and those professing ‘no religion’. ‘The census is a poor guide because it asks a single question about identity and offers a limited range of answers … The census still works with simple, unitary categories of religion. If forced, most of us can squeeze ourselves into one of these boxes. But if asked what we really mean, we display a heterogeneity which simplistic readings of the census ignore … Most people no longer identify with the labels of religious affiliation … Religion, like secularity, has become a matter of choice. We do not obey authority as we once did, and we no longer take our religious identities “off the shelf”. We explore for ourselves and assemble spiritual packages we find meaningful.’

Source: Linda Woodhead, ‘Faith that Won’t Fit the Mould’, The Tablet, 15 December 2012, p. 8.

 

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British Cohort Study + Fostering

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Clive D. Field

Our main story in today’s round-up of religious statistical news features initial findings from the current wave of one of the few genuinely longitudinal studies covering religion in this country, which further illustrates some of the methodological challenges involved in framing questions about religious affiliation. We also briefly note a survey of attitudes to inter-religious fostering in the wake of the recent row over fostering in Rotherham.

British Cohort Study: art of asking questions about religion

Among adult Britons now (2012) aged 42 years, 68% recall that they had some form of religious upbringing (32% as Anglicans, 10% as Roman Catholics, 8% as Christians in a specified denomination, 14% as undenominational Christians, 4% as non-Christians) and 32% none. However, today almost half (47%) regard themselves as belonging to no particular religion, with the biggest drop in affiliation (11%) being among those raised as Anglicans. Moreover, claimed attendance at religious services or meetings by these 42-year-olds is a distinctly minority activity, 74% never or rarely going, 16% occasionally but less than once a month, with 11% monthly or more often.

In terms of belief, 43% of these 42-year-olds say they believe in God (13% without doubts, 18% with doubts, and 12% some of the time). A further 14% believe in a higher power but not a personal God. Of the rest, 22% definitely do not believe in God and 20% are uncertain. The proportion who believe in life after death is slightly higher than in a personal God (49%, 19% definitely and 30% probably), with 18% replying definitely not and 34% probably not. In an echo of Mass-Observation’s classic 1947 study of Puzzled People, 23% of those who believe in God do not believe in life after death, and 21% of those who disbelieve in, or are uncertain about the existence of, God do believe in an afterlife.

Source: Analysis of initial responses (n = 2,197) to the May-December 2012 wave of the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70), which is following the lives of more than 17,000 people born in Britain in a single week during Spring 1970. By 2012 panel members were, accordingly, aged 42. They supplied information about religion by means of self-completion questionnaire in connection with the face-to-face interviews being conducted by TNS-BMRB. An important health warning is given by the researchers: ‘These [initial] responses may not be representative of the sample as a whole, and we have not investigated the characteristics of this subsample.’

The preliminary analysis appears in Alice Sullivan, David Voas and Matt Brown, The Art of Asking Questions about Religion, published on 28 November 2012 by the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS), Institute of Education, University of London. The CLS, which oversees BCS70, is a resource centre funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. The report also summarizes the replies to religious affiliation questions given by cohort members in 1986, 1996, 2000, and 2004, making comparisons with British Social Attitudes Surveys, and highlighting how ‘apparently small differences in question wording can lead to dramatic differences in responses’. Of course, the fact that consistent question-wording has not been used for each wave of BCS70 does somewhat undermine the value of the longitudinal approach in charting changes in the behaviour of panel members as they age. 

The press release by CLS, with a link for downloading the report, and observations on the findings by BRIN’s David Voas, can be found at:

http://www.cls.ioe.ac.uk/news.aspx?itemid=2431&itemTitle=More+people+may+believe+in+life+after+death+than+God%2c+study+finds&sitesectionid=905&sitesectiontitle=Press+Releases

Fostering

The majority (70%) of Britons think it definitely or usually acceptable for children to be fostered by foster parents who practice a different religion to that of the children being fostered. This is a higher proportion than believe that people with criminal records should be allowed to foster children (15%), or those with extreme political views (36%), the over-65s (44%), smokers (46%), and gays or lesbians (66%).

However, there is somewhat less approval of fostering by persons of a different religion to the foster child than is the case with fostering by unmarried couples (81%) or people of a different racial group to the child (85%). One-fifth (20%) contend that fostering across the religious divide should not be permitted, with Londoners and Conservative voters (each on 23%) and men (22%) being most likely to hold this view. The remaining 11% express no opinion.

Source: Online survey of 1,910 Britons aged 18 and over, undertaken by YouGov on 26-27 November 2012, and prompted by the current row in Rotherham where foster children have been taken away from foster parents who are members of the United Kingdom Independence Party. Full data tables, published on 28 November, are available at:

http://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/q1p1s7kwva/Fostering_Results_121127.pdf

 

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London Church Census and Other News

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Clive D. Field

The following three news items have reached BRIN’s in-tray during the past few days:

London church census

A census of attendance of Greater London’s churches took place on 14 October 2012 (chosen as an ‘average’ Sunday). Commissioned by the London City Mission, it was organized by Dr Peter Brierley (of Brierley Consultancy), who, as Executive Director of Christian Research and in previous capacities, was responsible for the four English church censuses undertaken between 1979 and 2005. Following circulation of initial publicity in June, he contacted the leaders of London’s estimated 4,900 churches (well up on the 4,100 which existed in 2005) in September, inviting them to complete a two-page questionnaire about their place of worship and to return it by prepaid post or email. They were encouraged to distribute self-completion slips to each member of their congregation on census day to gather the data requested about the age, gender, ethnicity, frequency of churchgoing, length of churchgoing, and distance travelled to church. In addition to attendance statistics, a wide range of other information was sought in the questionnaire, such as about church buildings, plants, mid-week services, and employees. Reminders have recently been sent to non-respondents, including those who (through Royal Mail’s oversight) failed to receive their original mailing, so it is too early to say anything about the overall response rate. A report on the census is expected to appear in April 2013. Meanwhile, thanks are due to Dr Brierley for briefing BRIN about the census. The questionnaire and accompanying instructions for completion can still be viewed online at:

http://brierleyconsultancy.com/londoncensus

State school admissions

Almost three-quarters (73%) of adults agree (two-thirds of them strongly) that state-funded schools, including state-funded faith schools, should not be allowed to select or discriminate against prospective pupils on religious grounds in their admissions policy. Responses vary little by demographic sub-groups, apart from in Scotland where the relatively high figure of 80% perhaps reflects ongoing sensitivities about the presence and practice of Roman Catholic schools in the Scottish state sector. The proportion in disagreement with the proposition is 18%, with 9% undecided. The findings are especially topical in the light of today’s dismissal by the High Court of a judicial review of Richmond-upon-Thames council’s decision to approve two new state-funded Catholic schools with selection based on religion, wholly in one case and substantially in the other. The unsuccessful legal challenge had been mounted by the British Humanist Association and Richmond Inclusive Schools Campaign.

Source: Online survey by ComRes of 2,008 Britons aged 18 and over on 2-4 November 2012, undertaken on behalf of the Accord Coalition. The Coalition campaigns against religious discrimination and indoctrination in schools, and it particularly seeks closure of the loophole in equality legislation which enables faith schools to operate an admissions policy which discriminates against children for religious reasons. Full results of the poll were published on 12 November 2012 and are available at:

http://accordcoalition.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Accord-Coalition_Faith-Schools_November2012.pdf

UK giving

‘Religious causes’ (including churches, mosques, and synagogues) attracted the largest charitable donations by individuals in Britain in 2011/12, with a median amount given of £20 per month, up by £5 from 2010/11 and twice the median for all charitable purposes. Religious organizations received 17% of all money donated to charities in 2011/12 (a 3% increase since 2004/05), greater even than medical research (15%), hospitals (15%), children or young people (11%), and overseas (10%). Although the proportion of donors giving to religious causes was less (14%), and eclipsed by medical research (33%), hospitals (30%), children (23%) and even animals (16%), it had risen since 2009/10 (12%) and 2010/11 (13%), resuming its level of 2007/08 and 2008/09.

Source: Face-to-face interviews with 3,319 Britons aged 16 and over via the Office for National Statistics omnibus in June and October 2011 and February 2012. Despite references to the UK, Northern Ireland was not surveyed. Summarized in Joy Dobbs, Véronique Jochum, Karl Wilding, Malcolm Smith, and Richard Harrison, UK Giving, 2012: An Overview of Charitable Giving in the UK, 2011/12, published on 13 November 2012 by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations and the Charities Aid Foundation, and available at: 

https://www.cafonline.org/PDF/UKGiving2012Full.pdf

 

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Sunday Times Religion Poll

Posted on November 11, 2012 by Clive D. Field

The Sunday Times took advantage of the expected announcement of the appointment of Justin Welby as the next Archbishop of Canterbury (eventually confirmed on 9 November) to include several questions on religion in the latest weekly omnibus poll which YouGov conducts on the newspaper’s behalf.

Online interviews were undertaken on 8 and 9 November 2012 with a representative sample of 1,642 Britons aged 18 and over, of whom 546 considered themselves to belong to the Church of England (even if not practising).

According to the study, rather more than one-third (37%) of all adults claim to believe in God, peaking among Anglicans (49%), those regarding themselves as richer than most people (47%), the over-60s (46%), women (43%), and Conservative voters (43%). One-fifth (21%) say they do not believe in God but do believe in some sort of spiritual higher power. Disbelievers in either God or a higher power number 29% and are particularly to be found among the 18-24s (39%) and men (37%). The remaining 13% do not know what to think about God.

Regular attendance (once a month or more) at a place of worship, other than for the rites of passage, is reported by 12% of Britons, rising to 17% in London, 18% for the self-designating rich, 19% of Scots, and 27% for believers in God. One-third are very occasional churchgoers (including 46% of Anglicans, 42% of Conservative voters, and 40% of the over-60s), while 53% admit that they never worship (with 59% among those aged 25-39, 62% of those considering themselves as poorer than most, and 84% of disbelievers in God).     

Turning to the Church of England, YouGov asked how well it had been led in recent years. Not unexpectedly, 36% found it hard to make an assessment (including 49% of Scots, 45% of under-40s, and 45% of disbelievers in God). Of the rest, just 28% think the Church has been well-led, Liberal Democrats and Anglicans being most positive, both on 42%, and 37% badly-led (with 46% of Conservatives, 46% of the over-60s, and 44% of men).

Naming names, the sample was then invited to rate the leadership of Rowan Williams, the outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury. Again, 39% could offer no view, with slightly more arguing he has done a good job (36%) than a bad job (25%). Most critical of Williams are Conservatives (39%), the over-60s (37%), and those perceiving themselves to be richer than most people (36%). More Anglicans assess that Williams has done a good job (49%) than the contrary (25%). A ComRes survey in England in August-September this year recorded a much higher approval rating (53%) for Williams’s leadership.

The majority (52%) found the next question completely beyond them, being unable to rank Williams against his predecessor Archbishops of Canterbury. Of those who ventured an answer (probably not well-informed in many cases), 4% judge Williams to be the best Archbishop of Canterbury of recent times, 7% one of the best Archbishops but not the very best, 17% a good Archbishop but not one of the very best, 11% a poor Archbishop but not one of the very worst, 4% one of the worst Archbishops of recent times but not the very worst, and 4% the worst Archbishop of recent times. Two-fifths of Anglicans describe Williams as the best, one of the best or a good Archbishop, compared with 28% of all Britons.

Two issues which are currently at the top of the Anglican in-tray are women bishops and same-sex marriage. Informed that Welby favours the former, respondents were asked whether the Church of England should permit women to become bishops. An overwhelming majority (77%) agree it should, including 89% of Liberal Democrat voters and 89% of the 18-24s, albeit just 69% of believers in God (and 80% of Anglicans). Only 9% of Britons are opposed (among them 16% of believers in God, 15% of Conservatives, and 13% of the over-60s and self-classifying rich), with 14% undecided.

Told that Welby does not endorse legalization of same-sex marriage, 51% of the sample went on to support a change in the law to enable such marriages to take place, the 18-24s (71%) and disbelievers in God (66%) being the strongest backers. Opponents numbered 38%, including 61% of the over-60s, 53% of believers in God, 52% of Conservatives, and 47% of Anglicans. 12% express no opinion.

In addition to these religious topics, replies to the political questions were all disaggregated by belief/disbelief in God and for the sub-group of Anglicans. The analysis reinforces some traditional stereotypes in that professing Anglicans are still more likely to vote Conservative than the norm (39% against 32%), while disbelievers in God or a spiritual higher power are more likely to be Labour voters than average (52% against 44%). On the other hand, the differences were only marginal when it came to the sample’s support for Barack Obama or Mitt Romney in the recent American presidential elections.

None of these findings is published in today’s print edition of The Sunday Times. However, the full data tables from this poll are freely available at:

http://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/zksfqcd9sa/Sunday%20Times%20Results%2009-111112%20VI%20and%20Tracker.pdf

 

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Death of Robert Currie, Carol Services

Posted on November 3, 2012 by Clive D. Field

 

Death of Dr Robert Currie

It is with great sadness that BRIN records the recent death, on 13 September 2012 (just twelve days after that of his wife and fellow scholar, Pamela), of Dr Robert Currie, Fellow and Tutor in Politics (1967-2000) and Emeritus Fellow (2000-12) of Wadham College, Oxford. Born in Bristol in 1940, the son of a postman, he was educated at Cotham Grammar School and The Queen’s College, Oxford, gaining firsts in history and then divinity, with a view to becoming a Methodist minister. However, he ultimately decided to enter academic life and studied for a doctorate at Nuffield College, Oxford, which he gained in 1966. His thesis, on ‘The Divisions and Reunion of British Methodism, 1791-1932, with Special Reference to Social and Organisational Factors’, was published by Faber in 1968 as Methodism Divided: A Study in the Sociology of Ecumenicalism.

Parts of Methodism Divided were underpinned by an analysis of historical British Methodist membership data, which stimulated Currie to become principal investigator for a major ‘Statistical Survey of Religion in Britain and Ireland since 1700’, funded by the then Social Science Research Council. His collaborators were Alan Gilbert, Currie’s doctoral student who completed his own thesis in 1973 on ‘The Growth and Decline of Nonconformity in England and Wales, with Special Reference to the Period Before 1850’ (subsequently repackaged as Religion and Society in Industrial England, Longman, 1976) and Lee Horsley. Their research culminated in Churches and Churchgoers: Patterns of Church Growth in the British Isles since 1700 (Clarendon Press, 1977).

Although long out of print, Churches and Churchgoers has been a hugely influential book during the past thirty-five years, partly because of the textual section on the dynamics of church growth (which has contributed to debates on secularization) and partly on account of the substantial appendix which collated time series of, in the main, church membership data for the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (despite the book’s title, it actually included few statistics from the eighteenth century and little about church attendance). Currie was very helpful to BRIN in 2008-09 in consenting to the reproduction on the BRIN website of this appendix in Excel format, thereby smoothing the path for negotiations with Oxford University Press.

After Churches and Churchgoers Currie’s academic interests moved on, and thus the volume remains his principal monument to his career-stage in the quantification of religion. Gilbert continued to be involved in research into the social history of religion in Britain and Australia (his native land), but he became progressively more committed to higher education administration, culminating in his appointment as President of the University of Manchester. Gilbert died in 2010, at the tragically early age of 65 and just months after his retirement. Horsley is happily still with us, as Reader in Literature and Culture at Lancaster University.    

Obituaries of Dr Currie can be read at:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2012/oct/23/robert-currie-obituary

http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/obits/obituaries/9967073.robert_and_pamela_currie/

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/community/obituaries/obits/9950761.couple_shared_academic_life_and_passion_for_books/

Carol Services

More than one-fifth of the population (22%) claim to be planning to attend a carol service in church during the forthcoming Christmas period, and a further 17% recall they have been to such a service at least once during the past five years. Apart from the ‘don’t knows’ (6%), the remaining 55% are neither planning to go to a church carol service this year nor have been in the previous quinquennium. Groups most likely to go to a carol service in 2012 include the over-65s (27%), public sector employees (28%), the top (AB) social grade (29%), residents of Eastern England (30%), Christians (34%), and regular churchgoers (83%). As with all predictive polling, it seems inevitable that some of these good intentions may not be acted upon at all or will translate into attendance at a carol concert in a non-church venue (such as a school).

The question used to measure ordinary levels of churchgoing, other than for the rites of passage, was somewhat different to the one commonly deployed. About one-quarter (26%) of respondents affirmed that they currently attend church, sub-dividing into 9% worshipping regularly (not defined), 7% occasionally, and 10% rarely. Of the 73% who do not attend, 30% say that they have done so formerly and 43% have never been churchgoers. Regular attenders peak among the over-65s and Londoners (both 13%), and ABs and residents of Eastern England (both 14%), while the never-attenders are concentrated in the 18-24s (57%) and those professing no faith (72%). The 9% figure for regular attendance seems a good deal less inflated than in many polls, although it is still higher than the weekly rate of 6% revealed by the last (2005) English Church Census. Of course, many worshippers now consider themselves to be ‘regular’ even if they do not attend week-by-week.

Source: Online survey of 2,097 adult Britons aged 18 and over interviewed by ComRes on 12-14 October 2012, on behalf of Premier Christian Media. Full data tables published on 31 October at:

http://www.comres.co.uk/polls/Premier_Religion_at_Christmas_October2012_2.pdf

 

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