A new survey commissioned by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) and conducted by White Stone Insight has found that 38% of British Christians say they choose not to disclose their religious beliefs to others.
This number is significantly higher than what is reported by Muslims, though it was found to be the same among British Jewish respondents.
UK Survey
Whitestone Insight, the group responsible for carrying out the survey, interviewed 2,064 UK adults on the phone at the beginning of the month, asking them about topics related to personal faith and public life.
The data in the survey was weighted to representative demographic proportions observed in the general population of UK adults.
Hiding Faith
The survey found that both 38% of British Jews and Christians report hiding their faith and an unwillingness to share it with others. This number was higher than 29% of Muslim respondents who also reported hiding their faith.
The survey respondents were asked to either agree or disagree with the statement “I prefer not to tell people about my faith or religious belief.”
Changing Faith
Christian respondents were the least likely group to have changed faith in their life, which the study asserts “[suggests] that Christianity is receiving the least converts.”
When combined with the information that many Christians are hiding their faith, this figure makes sense. If people are not talking about their faith publicly then one might expect a decline in the number of people converted.
Christian Youth Resistance
The study found some interesting dynamics involving youth participants. There seemed to be an embrace of faith by younger adults in the UK but a rejection of Christianity.
In the 18-24-year-old bracket, the belief that Christian heritage was important in the UK only had 46% of this group agreeing. This was much lower than those 65 years old and over group of which 74% agreed.
Confidence Low
One of the key takeaways from the survey is that there seems to be an overall low confidence in religion. When asked if religion was a force for good in the world, only 36% of respondents agreed with the statement.
This number was higher among the faithful, but the study reports that it was “not significantly higher” like one might expect: only 55% of religious adherents agreed with that statement.
Religion and Public Life
The study found that UK adults were divided on the presence of religion in public areas. 42% thought religion in the public workplace was a positive force while 41% of respondents disagreed.
36% percent of respondents said that politicians should talk about religion while 38% of people disagreed with that statement.
Religion Still Important to People
While these negative statistics for religious people may give the impression that spirituality and religion are in dire straits, the survey also found that religion is still important to a majority of people in the UK.
62% of survey respondents said that Christian heritage is important to the UK while only 23% disagreed with this idea.
Celebration of Diversity
Most UK adults in the survey felt that the UK was welcoming of religious diversity. 60% said agree that the UK welcomes this diversity with only 26% disagreeing.
Interestingly, despite many not thinking that religion is a positive force, a majority of respondents also believed that religion has contributed to “compassion and equality in the West.”
Gen Z and Faith
Another interesting finding from the study is that Gen Z members placed a high value on faith and a willingness to convert to and accept people of other faiths.
“Faith is of higher value, significance and impact to Gen Z compared with previous generations. A higher proportion of Gen Z have changed faith compared with the 65 plus group demonstrating a higher level of conversion into a different faith amongst Gen Z,” said the study.
More Zealous
The study found that faithful Gen Z adults were more zealous in their beliefs, which led them to be more willing to speak about it openly in public compared to the rest of the sample group.
“Overall Gen Z are more seeking God; they are more zealous in their faith being that the majority of them believe their faith is the only true religion; they are more wanting to speak of their faith in public and hear others share their faith, whilst also showing higher levels of interfaith and learning through interfaith,” the study said.
Gen Z Findings
The findings from this survey on Gen Z in particular are interesting because it contradicts a commonly held belief that Gen Z are some of the least faithful.
King’s College London in 2023 found that Gen Z had the lowest levels of belief compared to other generations. It’s possible that there is something complicated going on about how Gen Z chooses to identify or not identify with religion and faith depending on the survey approach.
