Young Scots more positive about church than believed - survey

A survey conducted on behalf of the Church of Scotland has found that young Scots are more positive about the Church and Christianity than previously believed.

Among the 2,221 Scottish secondary school pupils surveyed in the Ipsos MORI poll, 10 per cent said they attend a service every week, whilst more than a third had attended a Church of Scotland service in the last year.

The majority of respondents agreed that having a religious belief is positive or potentially positive.

Interestingly, 27 per cent of respondents said that they believe in God, against 26 per cent who said they do not believe in God. Yet 43 per cent stated that they believe in Heaven.

Youth specialist with the Church of Scotland, Steve Mallon, welcomed the findings.

"The numbers saying they believe in God or know about the Kirk are higher than many commentators would expect," he said. "Clearly many young people still value the religious dimension in life. In addition, many organisations and businesses would be happy with the level of 'brand awareness' that the Kirk seems to have."

The results threw up other areas that the Church said it would need to work on, after finding that only 16 per cent of respondents said they had talked to God through prayer, whilst a quarter claimed they had never attended a church service. A majority agreed that they did not know much about the Church of Scotland.

"These findings provide an interesting snapshot into the attitudes young people may have to faith and ideas specifically about the Church and Christianity," said Mallon.

"While these figures present some key challenges they also offer the Church a number of opportunities. This information will inform our way ahead as we seek to engage with young people and the ideas they already have about faith."

The Church's Mission and Discipleship Council commissioned the "Young People's attitudes to the Church and religion" survey to coincide with the Church of Scotland National Youth Assembly taking place in Dundee this weekend.

More than 300 delegates aged 16 to 25 will gather this Friday from across Scotland, England and mainland Europe for the four-day assembly.

Said Mallon, "As the National Youth Assembly meets in Dundee, we are challenged to get on with the job of reaching out to, and adding value to the lives of, Scotland's young people."