A YouGov survey has recently revealed further evidence that Britain has further slipped into the realms of being a largely irreligious country. The most recent statistics have revealed that only a minority now believe that God exists, and that an overwhelming majority have acknowledged that Britain’s society is becoming increasingly secular.
However, the results also show that there is little or no evidence at all of active hostility towards religious people or towards others' religious beliefs, and the national atmosphere seems to be descending into one of benign indifference.
The poll reveals that a majority of people seem to neither hope nor fear for a life after death, and only a third believe in heaven, and even less expressed belief in Hell and Satan.
The trend however, looks set to continue as even though the figures show a sharp drop in religious belief, young people are even less religious than their elders, which tends to indicate that further decline can be expected.
The poll began by asking the simple question, "Do you believe in God?" In 1968 figures show that 77% said that they did, however that figure has fallen to just 44% in the most recent poll. The numbers expressly saying that they do not believe in God has risen sharply also from 11% in 1968 to a staggering 35% today.
In particular, the majority of non-believers are men, and also young people. However, the poll also indicates that many are lost on the question, as a huge amount of people reported that the "Don’t Know", and many more described themselves as agnostic rather than outright atheist.
The results indicate a rising doubt engulfing the UK, and a clear reason is highlighted regarding why Britain is becoming more and more secularised; people simply are not sure what to think – they have doubts and disbeliefs.
However, there still seems to be a yearning for a faith-revival. Huge numbers expressed that although they were not particularly religious, they felt that the country was becoming worse for having lost what was once a commonly-shared faith.
The idea of Hell has been consistent though, with roughly 25% believing in 1968 and in 2004. However, people no longer understand Hell as a religious theme but tend to see it as pervading the human condition.
The poll showed worrying results for the Anglican denomination in Britain, as it showed the Communion was one of the least diligent in their attendance to Church services. Non-Conformists, non-Anglican Protestants, and Roman Catholics seemed to appear to be more devout in their standards.
In general the YouGov survey found Britain to have a "live and let live" response to religious belief and to many other things. The deficiency of passion towards religion has been said by some as the reason why Britain is such a religiously-tolerant country.
YouGov gathered their findings from 1,981 adults across Britain online between December 16th and 18th, and the results were used in an attempt to conform to the demographic profile of British adults as a whole.
