A new survey showed that the majority of Christians in the United Kingdom are inactive in their faith.
The ComRes study, commissioned by the Church of England, found that 55 percent of British Christians said they never read the Bible, and 36% admitted that they never go to church, The Telegraph reports.
The results revealed that the majority of self-professed Christians are not observing religious activities associated with the faith.
Of the 8,150 respondents in the survey, 51% said they were Christian. Among these Christians, only six% of them read the Bible, prayed once a week, and attended Church at least once a month. The results revealed that the majority of self-professed Christians are not observing religious activities associated with the faith.
Rachel Jordan, the Church of England’s National Mission and Evangelism adviser, said church leaders “wanted to devise a measure which shows us who the most committed people are – those who themselves might be willing to take on the task of spreading the good news of Jesus in his country.”
Rachel Jordan, the Church of England’s National Mission and Evangelism adviser, said church leaders “wanted to devise a measure which shows us who the most committed people are – those who themselves might be willing to take on the task of spreading the good news of Jesus in his country.”
The poll group asked the respondents about three measurements of faith in the survey—church attendance, Bible reading, and praying. According to the findings, Pentecostals and members of Independent or Free Evangelical Churches were the most observant of the faith, reports Church Times.
Those who claimed to be “active Christians” said they take part in religious activities at least once a month. Forty-five percent of them said they read or listened to the Bible at least once a week. The majority of the believers, or 80%, prayed, and more than half of them went to church at least monthly.
Among the respondents with no current religious affiliation, 9% said they were once Christians. During the time when they were Christians, more than half of the group had prayed and had gone to church. Thirty-eight percent of the former Christians had read or listened to the Bible.
The figures may be dismal, but Jordan is optimistic that it will help the church in finding ways to reach more Christians. “This does show that we need to do more to connect with those people and explore ways to draw them them into the wider church community,” she explained.
Sources:
The Telegraph
Church Times