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UK among most sceptical in world about religion

Britons view religion as a less positive aspect in our lives than other countries and are among the most sceptical, survey finds

Overall religion recorded a net positive score of just four per cent in Western Europe – less than the global score of 37 per cent positivity, and 33 per cent recorded in Eastern Europe
Overall religion recorded a net positive score of just four per cent in Western Europe – less than the global score of 37 per cent positivity, and 33 per cent recorded in Eastern Europe Credit: Photo: ALAMY

The British are among the most sceptical in the world about religion, a global study has found.

Just over a third of people in the UK believe religion has a positive role to play in our daily lives, compared to a global average of 59 per cent.

More than a quarter of Britons said they believe religious belief actually has a negative impact, while in countries like America and Hong Kong very few held this opinion.

The UK follows a trend in Western Europe to be sceptical of the role of religion, which is believed to be due to a greater acceptance of and number of people having secular beliefs.

Overall religion recorded a net positive score of just four per cent in Western Europe – less than the global score of 37 per cent positivity, and 33 per cent recorded in Eastern Europe.

Britons ranked religion as just six per cent positive overall.

This net, or overall, score was calculated by subtracting the total percentage of people who said religion has a negative impact on their country from those who said it is a positive aspect in their lives.

Jean-Marc Leger, president of WIN/Gallup International which polled 66,806 people for the survey, said: “Over half of the world still believes that religion plays a positive role in their country.

“Having said that, it is interesting to note that Western Europe bucks this trend considerably, highlighting the complex role of religion within the region and the impact that a secular outlook has on a country.”

Africa was the most positive region, while Indonesia was the most positive country in the world about religion.

Nine countries were highly sceptical and recorded overall negativity towards religion, including Denmark which was the most negative at -36 per cent and France which scored -22 per cent.

The survey also found education and religious belief affect attitudes to spiritual belief.

A lower net positivity of 20 per cent was recorded among people who were educated to Masters or PhD level, compared to a net score of 57 per cent among those with no education.

Muslims and Protestants were also more optimistic about the impact of belief, while Hindus were the least positive.