Category Archives: Survey news

Sunday Trading and the Olympics

Chancellor George Osborne is expected to use his budget speech today formally to announce Government plans to introduce emergency legislation to suspend the Sunday Trading Act 1994 for eight weeks from 22 July 2012, during the period around the Olympic and Paralympic Games, in a move designed to signal to the world that Britain is ‘open for business’. Sunday shopping hours would thus be deregulated in England and Wales, permitting large shops to open for more than six hours on Sundays for the first time. No public consultation on the matter is mooted. Although the relaxation would be temporary, the Treasury has indicated that it will regard the suspension as an experiment, quantifying the economic effects of deregulation. Continue reading

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Honour Crimes

Almost two-thirds (69%) of young British Asians aged 16-34 consider that families should live according to the concept of ‘honour’ or ‘izzat’. The proportion is lowest among Asian Christians (62%) and Hindus (64%) and greatest for Muslims (70%) and Sikhs (79%). This is one of the findings of a ComRes poll undertaken on behalf of the BBC as background for a Panorama special on ‘Britain’s Crimes of Honour’, being broadcast tonight (BBC One, 8.30 pm). Continue reading

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Western European Religion

There is no real consensus of public opinion in matters of religion, according to a new multinational poll from YouGov@Cambridge, published in connection with a symposium on the future of Europe, held at the British Academy on 15 March 2012. … Continue reading

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Gay Marriage and the Church

The debate about gay marriage has become more charged during recent weeks, as the Government’s plans for its legalization in England and Wales approach the public consultation stage. In particular, there has been heavyweight opposition to same-sex (gay) marriage from … Continue reading

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Religious Education in Schools

Fewer than one in seven Britons believe that religious education (RE) should not be taught at all in schools, and the proportion does not rise beyond 24% even for those who do not belong to a religion or 28% among … Continue reading

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Occupy London Impact

Almost three-quarters (71%) of Britons believe that the Occupy London anti-capitalist campsite outside St Paul’s Cathedral, evicted by police and bailiffs in the early hours of 28 February 2012, did not achieve much or anything at all, against 18% who … Continue reading

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Far Right Britons

The negativity of far right political parties, and particularly the British National Party (BNP), towards Islam and Muslims has been reaffirmed in a new report by academics at Nottingham and Salford Universities which was launched at Chatham House on 8 … Continue reading

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Occupy London Eviction

56% of British Christians believe that the anti-capitalist Occupy London protestors at St Paul’s Cathedral should not have been evicted by police and bailiffs, according to a poll from the Bible Society. 29% backed their removal, with 15% unsure what … Continue reading

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Labour Force Survey

Professing Christians in this country are declining by one and a half percentage points annually and, on present trends, ‘the number of people with no religion will overtake the number of Christians in Great Britain in twenty years’. This prediction … Continue reading

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On the Seventh Day

Only 6% of the readership of The People, the tabloid Sunday newspaper, regard Sundays as primarily a day for religious worship, and churchgoing is the most important regular feature of Sundays for just 10% of them, according to a survey … Continue reading

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