BBC: International Poll on Religion

[Fenris]

Snapshot of faith

People in the UK are less likely to believe in God than those in any other country, according to a BBC-commissioned global survey of religion.



True beliefs

More than 90% of those questioned in Indonesia, Nigeria and Lebanon said that they believed their God to be the only true God.

This compares to only 31% in the UK.



Religious activity

From the countries surveyed, an average of 46% regularly attend a religious service.

The lowest figures came from Russia (7%) and the UK (21%). The latter figure could include those attending rarely (ie. once a year at Christmas), so weekly attendance could be much lower.



A better person

More than 80% of people in most countries polled thought that a belief in God makes for a better person.

The lowest figure was the UK, with 56% agreeing.



Praying

In Nigeria, 95% of respondents said they prayed regularly.

A quarter of those polled in the UK, and 29% in Israel said they never prayed.

Nearly 30% of atheists questioned admitted that they prayed sometimes.



Ultimate sacrifice

More than 90% of those surveyed in Nigeria and Indonesia said they would give their lives for their beliefs.

Only 19% of those asked in the UK agreed.



A world without God?

In comparison, 29% of those polled in the UK said they thought the world would be a more peaceful place without religion.

What the World Thinks of God is broadcast as follows:
BBC Two, Thursday 26 February 2100 GMT
World Service, Sunday 29 February 1306 GMT

Find out more at: www.bbc.co.uk/whattheworldthinksofgod

[enki23]

1. numbers numbers numbers...

all is see is a big, bright, blinking "Find a job in the UK, you fool!" sign. i wonder how canada fares?

[BlueEyedSon]

2. Poor survey design... where is Canada and western Europe?

They are the most secular states. W/R/T religion, the US is comparable to the third world. Link, excerpt and graphic follow:

http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=167

Among Wealthy Nations … U.S. Stands Alone in its Embrace of Religion

Religion is much more important to Americans than to people living in other wealthy nations. Six-in-ten (59%) people in the U.S. say religion plays a very important role in their lives. This is roughly twice the percentage of self-avowed religious people in Canada (30%), and an even higher proportion when compared with Japan and Western Europe. Americans’ views are closer to people in developing nations than to the publics of developed nations.

The 44-nation survey of the Pew Global Attitudes Project shows stark global regional divides over the personal importance of religion.<1> In Africa, no fewer than eight-in-ten in any country see religion as very important personally. Majorities in every Latin American country also subscribe to that view, with the exception of Argentina. More than nine-in-ten respondents in the predominantly Muslim nations of Indonesia, Pakistan, Mali and Senegal rate religion as personally very important. In Turkey and Uzbekistan, however, people are more divided over religion’s importance.

Secularism is particularly prevalent throughout Europe. Even in heavily Catholic Italy fewer than three-in-ten (27%) people say religion is very important personally, a lack of intensity in belief that is consistent with opinion in other Western European nations. Attitudes are comparable in former Soviet bloc countries. In the Czech Republic, fully 71% say religion has little or no importance in their lives – more than any nation surveyed – while barely one-in-ten (11%) say it is very important. And in Poland, the birthplace of the Pope and where the Catholic Church played a pivotal role during the communist era, just 36% say religion is very important.

[pacifictiger]

3. If you look at the

global corruption perception index (www.transparency.org) a parallel is there for those countries that believe most fervently that "my god is the only true god" and those that are perceived to have the most corrupt governments. e.g. Nigeria ranks more corrupt at 132nd, while Britain ranks less corrupt at 11th.
Those "godless" countries such as denmark, sweden, netherlands rank 3rd, 6th and 7th respectively. The honest USA is ranked at 18th, behind all other "western" countries except for Israel, France, Spain & Italy.