Tags: statistics
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Time to stop pretending we have a ‘national church’
Posted: Fri, 18 Oct 2019 by Stephen Evans
As affiliation to Anglicanism continues its rapid decline the Church of England's privileges are increasingly unsustainable, says Stephen Evans. Let's disestablish the church and embrace a secular state. Read More »
The government must respond to pressure to end compulsory school worship
Posted: Mon, 05 Aug 2019 by Alastair Lichten
As opposition to compulsory worship gathers and its defenders grow increasingly out of touch, Alastair Lichten says ministers should reconsider the law and its implementation. Read More »
The BBC is overdoing religion
Posted: Mon, 31 Jul 2017 by Terry Sanderson
New figures show that the BBC is devoting hundreds of hours of programming to religion each year. NSS president Terry Sanderson argues that more of its scarce resources should be spent elsewhere.
In its recently published annual report, the BBC reveals the... Read More »
62% say there is “no place in UK politics for religious influence of any kind”
Posted: Mon, 23 May 2016 by Benjamin Jones
The overwhelming majority of Britons believe religion should not "influence" politics in the UK, and majorities of all religious believers except Muslims agree.
A ComRes poll commissioned by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association has found broad support for... Read More »
Muslim support for theocracy, not terrorism, is the real threat to confront
Posted: Thu, 14 Apr 2016 by Benjamin Jones
The ICM poll on 'What British Muslims Really Think' shows clearly that widespread support for Islamic theocracy, not terrorism, is the real, long-term threat to British society, argues Benjamin Jones.
Much of the discussion about the "What British Muslims Really... Read More »
Scotland is a mosaic of religions and beliefs – but the research shows people turning away from politicised faith
Posted: Thu, 24 Mar 2016 by Alistair McBay
Scotland is a mosaic of beliefs and non-beliefs where individuals are free to hold a belief, change it or not have one at all. But it's not hard to see why people are rejecting the organised and politicised aspects of religion, writes Alistair McBay.
Much is... Read More »
For richer or poorer – where is the Church of England?
Posted: Tue, 23 Feb 2016 by Ed Moore
Is the Church really as poor as it claims? Ed Moore, treasurer of the National Secular Society, considers the extent of the Church of England's considerable wealth.
A recent news item on the BBC web site entitled 'Cash concerns for England's Anglican cathedrals'... Read More »
Welby praises “most orthodox” bishops since WW2 as UK gives up on the church
Posted: Thu, 21 Jan 2016 by National Secular Society
As the UK undergoes a "revolutionary generational change" away from religion the Archbishop of Canterbury has boasted that the Church's Bishops in the House of Lords are the "most orthodox since WW2".
Speaking during the fractious meeting of the Anglican Communion,... Read More »
Misrepresenting concerns about Islam won’t make society more cohesive
Posted: Wed, 08 Jul 2015 by Benjamin Jones
Recent polling found that 56% of Britons think Islam poses a threat to democracy. However this finding has been misrepresented to suggest that British people think Muslims themselves are a "threat".
When asked, "does Islam (not fundamentalist groups) pose... Read More »
Academics call for greater sensitivity about religion in universities, but students suggest it’s not an issue
Posted: Fri, 19 Jun 2015 by National Secular Society
Some academics are giving undue prominence to religion and religious students- when the evidence shows they are exaggerating the scale of the 'problem' they describe.
Tariq Modood, professor of sociology at the University of Bristol, and Professor Craig Calhoun,... Read More »
Most Britons aren’t religious- but are religious ‘voting blocs’ wielding increasing power in our elections?
Posted: Wed, 06 May 2015 by Benjamin Jones
Religious leaders are wielding disproportionate influence in this election. Benjamin Jones argues that this is likely to get worse, and politicians should resist the urge to treat religious people as blocs.
While the religious are declining as a share of the... Read More »
Secularism in 2050: huge changes in population make a secular UK even more urgent
Posted: Fri, 10 Apr 2015 by Benjamin Jones
As huge demographic changes and the rapid increase in the Muslim population reshape religion in the UK, Benjamin Jones makes the case that secularism is the best guarantee of future freedoms for believers and atheists alike.
By 2050, 1-in-9 Britons will be... Read More »
Should taxpayers be paying for the Church’s leaking roofs?
Posted: Fri, 20 Mar 2015 by Keith Porteous Wood
Keith Porteous Wood argues that with the Church Commissioners sitting on a £4bn surplus, the Church of England should not be receiving additional public funds for fixing church roofs, and it should concede changes to the law on Chancel Repair Liability... Read More »
New data revealed on 2015 voting intentions of non-believers
Posted: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 by Benjamin Jones
The British Election Study has shed new light on the voting intentions of non-believers, and highlighted the power of religious minorities to shape elections in the future. Benjamin Jones explores how atheists, agnostics and the irreligious plan to vote in... Read More »
BBC poll shows that religious people give more to charity than non-religious. Maybe...
Posted: Sun, 08 Jun 2014 by Terry Sanderson
Here we go again – the BBC has commissioned a survey that apparently shows that religious people are more likely to give to charity than non-religious people.
If you look at the results, you see that the difference in charitable giving between believers... Read More »
Can we please stop wasting money on these endless surveys that just tell us what we already know?
Posted: Thu, 12 Sep 2013 by Terry Sanderson
Professor Paul Weller of Derby University seems to have cornered the market in research into perceived discrimination against religious groups. He seems to bring out a new report on it every year — all saying basically the same thing. We have also had... Read More »
Public perceptions and reality - have we got it wrong?
Posted: Thu, 11 Jul 2013 by Terry Sanderson
An Ipsos-Mori poll for the Royal Statistical Society tried to measure what people's perception of issues were as opposed to the reality (according to the official figures).
On religion, the survey found that people vastly overestimated the number of Muslims... Read More »
The CofE tries to spin its bad news. But it’s still bad news.
Posted: Wed, 08 May 2013 by Keith Porteous Wood
The Church of England was struggling to make the best out of its latest attendance figures (pdf) (for 2011), claiming that they are "stabilising" and provoking the Daily Mail's headline: "Hark! The flock's back: Church attendances up... but it's only at Christmas".... Read More »
Where there is state religion, there is less freedom
Posted: Thu, 04 Apr 2013 by Elizabeth O'Casey
In a recent paper, "State Religion and Freedom: A Comparative Analysis", published by the Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association, Professor Steven Kettell discusses the findings of his comparative analysis on the relationship... Read More »
New report confirms that religious TV is least popular genre – but the BBC won’t let up
Posted: Wed, 20 Mar 2013 by Terry Sanderson
By Terry Sanderson
A new report, confirming previous research, shows that religion is the least popular genre of programming on TV.
TeleScope is an annual TV industry report produced by TeleHappiness, an initiative of TV Licensing. It looks at the UK's television... Read More »
Is Europe secular or Christian?
Posted: Fri, 15 Feb 2013 by Revd Dr Darrell Jackson
By Revd Dr Darrell Jackson, Senior Lecturer in Missiology, Morling College, Sydney.
During 2009 and 2010, the Nova Research Centre, Redcliffe College, Gloucester(which I served as founding Director between 2007 and 2011) began to identify ways of measuring... Read More »
There is no American-style Religious Right in Britain, but the general theo-political landscape is lurching rightward
Posted: Wed, 06 Feb 2013 by Terry Sanderson
By Terry Sanderson
A new report by the Theos think-tank throws some interesting light on the evangelical Christian groups that have pushed themselves to the forefront of religio-political activism in the past couple of decades.
The report entitled "Is there... Read More »
Atheists respond in their thousands to ‘census’, but can we trust the data?
Posted: Sun, 20 Jan 2013 by Stewart Ware
In an attempt to capture demographic data on the non-religious, Atheist Alliance International has set up the Atheist Census. The aim is to capture each participant's religious background, educational level, age, sex and country of residence. In addition,... Read More »
How to make “nones” disappear: a lesson in statistics from Northern Ireland
Posted: Thu, 13 Dec 2012 by Jill Farquhar
By Jill Farquhar
There is an old Belfast joke about the man stopped at a roadblock and asked his religion. When he replies that he is an atheist he is asked, "Protestant or Catholic atheist?" (Christopher Hitchens, God is Not Great, 2007)
This week's press coverage... Read More »
Census 2011: What has caused this massive flight from Christianity?
Posted: Tue, 11 Dec 2012 by Stephen Evans
So, now we have the census figures and, as expected, there has been a huge drop in the number of people declaring themselves Christian in Britain – from 72% to 59%. The rise in those declaring they have no religion has risen from 15% to 25%.
So what has... Read More »
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