Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life
  • May 15, 2024

Britain’s attitudes to faith in public life – May 2024

The Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) commissioned a ground-breaking, nationally-representative survey into the British public’s attitudes to the role that faith plays in different aspects of life. Respondents were polled on topics including personal faith, faith in public life, faith in education, faith literacy, faith in the media and how Britain’s relationship with faith has changed.

This survey was carried out by Whitestone Insight. They interviewed 2,064 UK adults on-line between 1st and 2nd May 2024. Data were weighted to be representative of all UK adults. Whitestone Insight is a member of the British Polling Council (BPC) and abides by its rules.

Read our full analysis here

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Key points

  • Confidence that religion is a force for good in society was low. Across the sample, 36% agreed and 27% disagreed. Figures for those of faith were not significantly higher, with 55% in agreement and 27% in disagreement. 
  • Resistance to the presence of religion in the workplace and politics. 42% of the sample thought religion in the workplace was positive compared to 41% who disagreed (37% compared to 47% of religious). 36% of the sample agreed that politicians should speak religion compared to 38% who disagreed (51% compared to 47% of religious). 
  • Low trust in the media. The media is believed to be unbalanced (21% of the sample thought it was balanced compared to 51% who disagreed; 24% to 54% for religious) and biased (71% agreed it was biased compared to 13% who disagreed; 72% compared to 13% for religious). Correspondingly, few wanted to see more religion in the media (63% of the sample were not in favour of more media coverage compared to 18% in favour; 49% of religious respondents were not in favour compared to 28% in favour). 
  • Religion appears important to life in the UK. 62% of respondents agreed that Christian heritage was important to the UK compared to 23% who disagreed. More non-religious also agreed with this statement – 47% compared to 37%. 
  • There is a perception that the UK welcomes religious diversity (60% of the sample agreed compared to 26% who disagreed) and that good relations exist between faith groups (73% of the sample report having friends of different faiths). Moreover, while only 36% of the sample considered religion a positive force in communities, 53% stated that religion has contributed to compassion and equality in the West. Many respondents considered religious education important in schools (61% compared to 21%) and believed that knowledge of other faiths is important (80% compared to 12%). 

Youth revival

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. Gen Z emphasises the importance of faith in the public domain, viewing politicians discussing their faith publicly and faith leaders’ involvement in social and political matters positively. A significant majority of Gen Z have friends of other faiths and the majority learn about other faiths from these friends, contrasting with only 25% of over 65s learning about other faiths from friends who hold different beliefs.

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.

  • 69% of respondents within the 18-24 year old bracket believe their faith significantly impacts their lives, compared to 44% of respondents aged 55-65 and 51% of respondents aged 65 plus.
  • 72% of respondents within the 18-24 year old bracket find faith helps them find purpose in life, in contrast to 47% of respondents aged 65 plus.
  • 78% of respondents within the 18-24 year old bracket feel their faith has shaped their moral values, compared to 63% of respondents aged 45-54, 65% of respondents aged 55-64, and 68% of respondents aged 65 plus.
  • 76% of respondents within the 18-24 year old bracket have friends with faiths or beliefs different from their own, a trend consistent across age groups.
  • 53% of respondents within the 18-24 year old bracket believe their faith to be the only true religion, while 25% of respondents aged 65 plus share this belief. However, 45% of respondents within the 18-24 year old bracket are open to changing their minds about faith, compared to 22% of respondents aged 65 plus.

Christianity

  • 38% of Christian and Jewish respondents prefer not to tell people about their faith compared with 29% of Muslim respondents. Christian and Jewish respondents are the least willing to tell people about their faith.
  • Christians were least likely to have changed faith in their life suggesting that Christianity is receiving the least converts.
  • Christians are least likely to oppose talking about faith in the workplace with 37% believing it should not be spoken about compared with 43% Muslim respondents, 52% of Hindu respondents and 47% of Jewish respondents.
  • 46% of respondents within the 18-24 year old bracket believe that Christian heritage is an important aspect of British culture compared with 74% of those in the 65 plus bracket.

Judaism

  • Jewish respondents were in the most agreement with Christian heritage being the most important aspect of British culture (87%) followed closely by Christian respondents (80%), Budhist respondents (73%) and Muslim respondents (65%). Respondents of no religious faith were least likely to agree with this statement at 47%.
  • 80% of Jewish respondents agreed with the statement that the UK is a Christian country followed by 64% of Christian respondents, 63% of Hindu respondents and 38% of Muslim respondents.
  • Jewish respondents were most likely to agree that it is important to understand what the major religions are about with 86% of respondents agreeing with this statement compared with 78% of Christian respondents and 64% of respondents of no religious faith.
  • Jewish respondents were in most agreement (97%) with the statement that it is important to learn about other faiths besides your own in school and (88%) that it is good that children are taught religious education in school compared with 65% of Hindu respondents and 50% of respondents with no religious faith.
  • Jewish respondents were most likely to agree that freedom of religion has worsened in the UK in the last ten years with 82% agreeing with this statement compared with 46% Muslims, 38% of Hindus and 54% of Christian respondents.
  • 100% of Jewish respondents have friends who hold a different faith or beliefs about God to them.

Islam

  • 92% of Muslim respondents believe their faith has a significant impact on the way they live their life compared with 47% of Christian respondents.
  • 88% of Muslim respondents find faith helps them find purpose in life compared with 50% of Christian respondents.
  • 96% of Muslim respondents feel their faith has shaped their moral values compared with 66% of Christian respondents.
  • 83% of Muslim respondents believe their faith to be the only true religion compared with 28% of Christian respondents and 5% of Jewish respondents.
  • 61% of Muslim respondents are searching for a deeper understanding of God or a higher power compared with 33% of Christian respondents. Others above 50% = Hindu respondents and Buddhist respondents.
  • 83% of Muslim respondents believe religion is generally a force for good in society compared with 54% of Christian respondents. Only 33% of Jewish respondents believe it to be a force for good.
  • 80% of Muslim respondents are more interested in their faith now than when they were younger compared with the 38% of Christian respondents.
  • Muslim respondents were most in agreement (67%) with British politicians talking about their faith being a positive thing compared with Sikhs as the least positive at 41%.
  • 77% of Muslim respondents thought British politicians should listen to what faith leaders have to say on social and political issues compared with 48% of Christian respondents.
  • 75% of Muslim and Christian respondents have friends with faiths or beliefs about God that are different from their own. 96% of Hindu respondents and 100% of Jewish respondents recorded the same.

Non-religious

  • 13% of non-religious respondents believed faith and religion are generally a force for good in society opposed 55% of those with a religious faith.
  • Those with no religion were most likely to agree with the statement that religion should not be spoken about in the workplace.
  • Whilst those of faith (51%) and young people (47%) agreed that British politicians talking about their faith publicly is a positive thing only 19% of those of no-faith felt this way.
  • Despite 87% of Jewish respondents, 65% of Muslim respondents and 80% of Christian respondents thinking Christian heritage is an important aspect of British culture only 47% of those of no-faith agreed with this statement.
  • Respondents of no-faith were least likely to think that British politicians should listen to faith leaders on what they have to say on social and political issues (22% compared with 50% of faith).
  • Respondents of no-faith were 10% less in agreement than those of faith on the statement that it is important to learn about other faiths than your own.
  • Respondents of no-faith were far more likely to disagree with the statement that it is good for children to learn about religion in school (34% compared with 9% of those with faith.

About the author

Dr Jake Scott

Dr Jake Scott is the secretary at the IIFL. An English Christian academic, his PhD thesis was written on populism, popular identity and political theory. He is particularly interested in the social impact of religion and faith.