As times change, so do opinions and beliefs. This is the case for Western Europe as a survey reveals that most people in that part of the continent do not believe that there is a heaven or hell — even though they profess their belief in God,
Global market and consulting firm Ipsos developed a worldwide survey called the "Perils of Perception." It was distributed to 38 countries to see how inaccurate the public is when it comes to important global issues and features of their own countries.
The survey included many aspects of global issues, from murder rates, terrorist casualties, teenage pregnancies, health and as previously mentioned, their belief in heaven and hell. In the latter part, the Ipsos survey found that most Western Europeans do not believe in heaven and hell despite believing in God.
For example, in Great Britain, people are commonly assumed to be a lot more spiritual with twice as many people believing in hell than those who actually do. The assumption is that 45 percent of people believe in heaven and 38 percent believe in hell. However, the survey revealed that only 32 percent of the population said they believe in heaven and only 21 percent said they believe in hell.
When it came to the belief in God, the average estimate was that 45 percent of the population believed in God. However, only 39 percent said they do.
In Spain, the guess was that 43 percent of the population believed in hell when it was actually just 19 percent.
Sweden, on the other hand, overestimated their belief in God. They guessed that 37 percent believe in God when only 22 percent said they do.
From the countries that were profiled, it seems to be apparent that most countries in the west have a lot of people that think they believe in a heaven or hell more than they actually do. Only a small portion of the populations in Great Britain, Sweden, Denmark, Canada, France, Spain and Belgium actually believe in a heaven and hell.
