The most recent BRIN post presented across-time data on public opinion looking at (i) whether Britain is a Christian country and (ii) whether Britain should be a Christian country. Another perspective on public attitudes in this area is provided by a question asked as part of the British Social Attitudes (BSA) surveys. It focused on whether it is important to be Christian in order to be truly British. The question was asked on the 1995, 2003 and 2008 surveys. The full question wordings were as follows:
1995 and 2003
Some people say the following things are important for being truly British. Others say they are not important. How important do you think it is … to be a Christian?
2008
‘Some people say that being Christian is important for being truly British. Others say it is not important. How important do you think it is?’
Have the public’s response to this question changed over time, as the majorities who believed Britain should be a Christian country had declined over the years and as the level of Christian affiliation has fallen. Table 1 shows the distribution of responses for the BSA surveys for 1995, 2003 and 2008. Overall, in each survey a clear majority thinks that it is not very important or not at all important to be Christian in order to be truly British. This majority increases somewhat over time, from 64.5% and 65.9% in 1995 and 2003 to 75.1% in 2008 (shown in the row ‘COMBINED: NOT VERY OR NOT AT ALL’). Accordingly, the minority thinking that is very or fairly important falls from around a third in 1995 (33.1%) to just under a quarter in 2008 (23.7%) (shown in the row ‘COMBINED: VERY OR FAIRLY’).
Table 1: Attitudes towards whether being Christian is important for being truly British
|
1995 (%) |
2003 (%) |
2008 (%) |
|
| Very important |
19.1 |
15.6 |
6.2 |
| Fairly important |
14.0 |
16.2 |
17.5 |
| COMBINED: VERY OR FAIRLY |
33.1 |
31.8 |
23.7 |
| Not very important |
28.2 |
24.5 |
37.4 |
| Not at all important |
36.3 |
40.4 |
37.7 |
| COMBINED: NOT VERY OR NOT AT ALL |
64.5 |
64.9 |
75.1 |
| Don’t know |
2.4 |
3.2 |
1.2 |
Source: Compiled by the author from BSA surveys.
Given the overall state of opinion on this question in the three surveys, what about sub-group variation in attitudes? Figure 1 presents data for various subgroups using the BSA 2008 survey. It shows the proportion in each group thinking that it is fairly important or very important to be Christian in order to be truly British. There is little difference of view between men and women (respectively, 22.6% and 24.7%). There is a clear difference based on age, with those aged 65 and older most likely to think it is fairly or very important (38.5%), which is around double that recorded by those aged 18-29 years old (19.4%). The other age groups (30-49 years and 50-64 years) are much closer to the youngest cohort in their views. Based on educational attainment, those with degree-level qualifications (or higher) are less likely to think it is fairly or very important (14.4%) compared to those with lower-level or no qualifications (25.9%).
As could be expected, there are variations in opinion based on different religious factors: affiliation, attendance, and being a religious person or not. Those with some form of Christian affiliation are much more likely to say it is fairly or very important (highest at 37.3% for Anglicans) than are members of non-Christian faiths (14.5%) and those with no affiliation (12.8%). Based on frequency of attendance at religious services, regular attenders (once a month or more) and irregular attenders (less than once a month) are more likely to say that it is fairly or very important (respectively, 31.4% and 28.9%) compared to those who do not attend services at all (20%). Based on self-perceptions of oneself as a religious person or not, those who see themselves as religious are more likely to respond that it is fairly or very important (35.4%) compared to those who are not religious (10.5%), with those who do not choose either label positioned between the religious and non-religious (at 22.8%).
Finally, looking at views based on political party affiliation, we see that Conservative and Labour supporters are somewhat more likely to say it is fairly or very important (respectively, 27.2% and 26.8%) compared to Lib Dem supporters (17.9%), those who affiliate with minor parties (21.1%) and those with no party affiliation (19.8%).
Figure 1: Per cent saying ‘very important’ or ‘fairly important’
Source: Compiled by the author from the BSA 2008 survey.
