Twenty million pray in UK - Tearfund survey

Prayer is a vital part of life for nearly half of UK adults, with 20 million saying they pray and one in three adults believing that God is watching over them, according to a report published last Sunday by Christian relief & development agency Tearfund.

With around 40 days left until Christmas, the results fly in the face of the commonly held view that faith is increasingly irrelevant in today's secular society.

The new findings on prayer follow a survey earlier this year by Tearfund which revealed that 7.6 million adults attend church at least once a month.

Staggeringly, London is confirmed as one of the least secular parts of the UK with 73 per cent of adults praying and one in five attending church at least once a month.

Publication of the latest Tearfund report, Prayer in the UK, marks the start of Tearfund's Global Poverty Prayer Week, November 12-18, during which thousands of people around the UK and in other countries are joining together in prayer about issues of poverty and injustice.

The Prayer in the UK report provides an authoritative insight into prayer, revealing that prayer is perhaps more common than many believe.

Of the 42 per cent (20 million) of UK adults who pray, 13 million pray at least once a month and 12 million at least once a week. Nine million adults pray every day.

The survey, conducted among a representative sample of 2,000 adults, reveals strong belief in the power of prayer to bring about positive change in the world.

One in three people believes that God is watching over them and will answer their prayers; for the same number of people, praying makes them feel better - more peaceful and content (38%), stronger (30%), reassured (21%) and happier (19%); and 12 million adults believe that prayer can change their friends', families' and their own lives. One in five believes prayer changes the world.

When it comes to the most popular topics of prayer among the 20 million of UK adults who pray, family & friends (68%) leads the way, followed by thanking God (41%). World issues rank fifth on the list (25%), highlighting the challenge for Tearfund to encourage more prayer for issues of poverty.

Among churchgoers within the survey, 90 per cent say they pray (outside of religious services). Six out of 10 churchgoers pray every day, with two-thirds believing that prayer changes the lives of people living in poverty in developing countries.

Said Matthew Frost, Tearfund Chief Executive: "This report means a great deal to us at Tearfund in our work to help to eradicate poverty through local churches, by demonstrating the prevalence and potential of prayer.

"We hope in the future to encourage more prayer in support of such issues as fairer global trade rules, quicker progress towards halving world poverty by 2015 and stronger action to tackle climate change."

Tearfund is encouraging people to make a difference by visiting the Global Poverty Prayer Week website www.bepartofamiracle.org

Other findings from Prayer in the UK include:
• London is prayer capital of UK, with 73% of adults praying.
• 9.5 million people (47% of those who pray) believe that prayer changes what happens to the lives of people living in poverty in developing countries.
• While 42% of UK adults pray, the figure for church attendance (at least once a year) is 22%.