Research presents clearer profile of UK evangelical Christians
A new study of Evangelical Christians in the United Kingdom showed recently that more than half of total respondents support the Allied intercession in Libya, but three-fourths were against the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
The study, Does Belief Touch Society? was conducted by the Evangelical Alliance and Christian Research, to help provide a more comprehensive profile of U.K. Evangelical Christians in the 21st century.
The survey was conducted online with over 1,000 Christian respondents hailing from various denominations including Charismatics, Methodists, Anglicans, Free Evangelicals, Pentecostals and the Church of Scotland.
The study follows up the breakthrough 21st Century Evangelicals Survey conducted last year with some 17,000 respondents. Both studies are designed to look into Evangelicals’ behavior, habits, practices and beliefs.
Steve Clifford, general director of Evangelical Alliance said in the study’s introduction, “We hope that this report, by holding up a mirror, will inspire us to seek — and be certain of — God’s truth in our lives and our communities.”
Demographics
The respondents to the study are a balanced representation gender-wise and come from a wide range of churches. However, limitations to the study are the under-representation of ethnic minorities and youth. Most respondents are highly educated. Because of the study’s limitations, only raw figures were presented.
The study’s validity lies in its contribution to the unfolding of a full census of U.K. evangelicals that may, in due time, provide a more nationally-representative demographic.
Findings revealed the following:
Faith
Most evangelicals overwhelmingly prescribe to the central Christian belief of Jesus’ death for the sins of all men and his resurrection. Furthermore:
- 99 percent believe the message of the cross changed their lives.
- 91 percent believe Jesus rose with a physical body from the dead.
- 85 percent strongly believe that Christians have eternal life.
- 82 percent strongly believe the resurrection shapes how they live now.
- 78 percent strongly believe that they will have eternal life after they die.
Practice:
- 95 percent went to church on Easter Sunday, but only 65% went to church on Good Friday.
- 57 percent go to churches that participated in inter-church activities during Easter.
- 41 percent participated in an evangelical activity over Easter.
- 23 percent visited friends, family, or went on holiday during Easter.
Public life
The study showed that most respondents are active participants in public life, with one-fourth of the total being trustees in a registered charity, nine percent serving as school governors, and four in 100 being with a political party. Nine out of 10 respondents voted in the AV referendum (compared to the national turnout of 42 percent).
Clifford said, of the findings, “There is much to celebrate in this report. Evangelical Christians are not bystanders. We are actively involved in our communities. But yet we must also rise to the challenge presented to us by some of these figures.”
To download the complete study, go to http://www.eauk.org/snapshot/does-belief-touch-society.cfm.