Monday, November 12, 2007 | Reason : Science of Religion | print version

A third of adults believe God watches over them

by Denis Campbell, The Observer

Thanks to Gary J. Byrne for the link.

Reposted from:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2209058,00.html

Two in five adults say prayers and one in three believes that God is watching over them, a new poll reveals. Of the 20 million Britons aged over 18 who say they pray, 13 million do so at least once a month, 12 million every week and 9 million every day. Most people (68 per cent) pray for family and friends, 41 per cent to thank God and 25 per cent over world issues.

But just 22 per cent go to church at least once a year.

A third of adults questioned think that God will answer their prayers, while 12 million believe that prayer can change their own lives or those of their nearest and dearest. London is the UK's least secular area, with 73 per cent of adults praying and one in five attending church at least once a month.

Tearfund, the Christian aid charity that commissioned the survey, says: 'The results fly in the face of the view that faith is increasingly irrelevant in today's secular society.' Matthew Frost, its chief executive, said the report 'demonstrates the prevalence and potential of prayer' and he hoped that more people would pray about issues such as world poverty and climate change.

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1. Comment #87526 by Matt7895 on November 12, 2007 at 11:25 am

But only of those polled... since it was done by a Christian charity, those most likely to involve themselves in the poll would be Christians.

The only reliable source of religiosity is the Census, and even then many believing Christians mess around and choose 'Jedi', at least some of the Christians I know do.

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2. Comment #87530 by themanchoo on November 12, 2007 at 11:34 am

and he hoped that more people would pray about issues such as world poverty and climate change.

Yes, because that would solve the problem.

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3. Comment #87535 by SilentMike on November 12, 2007 at 11:54 am

A third of adults believe God watches over them.

I would like to object to the use of the term "adults" in this context. These people are not adults. Not really.

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4. Comment #87550 by Buddha on November 12, 2007 at 12:45 pm

A spokesman from the TearFund was interviewed on BBC Breakfast News on Friday morning. He said that the results of this poll "clearly shows that Christianity and Islam is exploding around the World".

The irony left me chortling quietly to myself.

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5. Comment #87551 by Diacanu on November 12, 2007 at 12:45 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O426jQAjGSM

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6. Comment #87554 by eric.malitz on November 12, 2007 at 12:51 pm

"said the report 'demonstrates the prevalence and potential of prayer' and he hoped that more people would pray about issues such as world poverty and climate change."

And hence, the biggest, but most ignored, problem that religion has today- a lack of real responsibility.

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7. Comment #87557 by Diacanu on November 12, 2007 at 12:55 pm

So, God is like a senator, you gotta get enough people behind a petition for him to take notice?

How does that work?

A senator has fear of not getting reelected.

God is dictator for life, he ain't gotta do shit.

Geez, it's like these stories were constructed by child-minded primitives from the bronze age or something.

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8. Comment #87561 by Vendetta on November 12, 2007 at 1:12 pm

Comment #87557 by Diacanu:

...Geez, it's like these stories were constructed by child-minded primitives from the bronze age or something.

Methinks you're onto something there, Diacanu.

Other Comments by Vendetta

9. Comment #87564 by Dr Benway on November 12, 2007 at 1:23 pm

How many pray for Hoof Hearted to win, place, or show in the fifth?

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10. Comment #87585 by Christian on November 12, 2007 at 2:25 pm

So, God is like a senator, you gotta get enough people behind a petition for him to take notice?

Yepp. At least that's the way most people seem to use prayer (and especially prayer requests).

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u232/revenant357/howprayerworksccy6.gif

;^)

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11. Comment #87608 by John Done on November 12, 2007 at 3:12 pm

"Matthew Frost, its chief executive, said the report 'demonstrates the prevalence and potential of prayer' and he hoped that more people would pray about issues such as world poverty and climate change."

Yeah, that's it! We need to *pray* about these issues! Oh, wait! I just got a great idea! Let's DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE ISSUES. For Ra's sake, can't these people think of something better to do than *wishing*? How about we just decide the fate of the planet on a coin toss? Heads, utopia; tails, total annihilation. If we lose the coin or it somehow lands on its side, then we shall consult the innards of a rabbit. At least then the superstition will actually take place in the open, as opposed to *inside our heads*.

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12. Comment #87611 by mmurray on November 12, 2007 at 3:18 pm

But only of those polled... since it was done by a Christian charity, those most likely to involve themselves in the poll would be Christians.

It says the poll was commissioned by the charity not that the charity did it. You would need to dig deeper to see if the poll was conducted properly.

Of course polls can be fixed

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2yhN1IDLQjo

Michael

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13. Comment #87614 by mmurray on November 12, 2007 at 3:23 pm

Matthew Frost, its chief executive, said the report 'demonstrates the prevalence and potential of prayer'

No it demonstrates (if done correctly) the prevalence of prayer. It says nothing about potential. You might as well say that the large number of people who buy some kind of lottery ticket demonstrates the potential of lotteries to solve poverty. If all the people who bought a ticket actually won we wouldn't need to spend any more taxes on welfare.

Michael

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14. Comment #87618 by notsobad on November 12, 2007 at 3:34 pm

Another proof that religious beliefs are in fact selfish beliefs.
watches over THEM, pray for THEIR..

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15. Comment #87642 by Crazymalc on November 12, 2007 at 4:49 pm

Comment #87557 by Diacanu

Geez, it's like these stories were constructed by child-minded primitives from the bronze age or something.

If this abomination of a sentence is anything to go by, then you might indeed be onto something!

Two in five adults say prayers and one in three believes that God is watching over them, a new poll reveals

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16. Comment #87659 by prettygoodformonkeys on November 12, 2007 at 5:52 pm

7. Comment #87557 by Diacanu on November 12, 2007 at 12:55 pm:

I have nothing to say, I only logged on to rate your comment Excellent.

Brothers and sisters: Diacanu in da house! Can I get a "Hell yeah!"?

PGFM

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17. Comment #87683 by JanChan on November 12, 2007 at 8:48 pm

But just 22 per cent go to church at least once a year.

Tearfund, the Christian aid charity that commissioned the survey, says: 'The results fly in the face of the view that faith is increasingly irrelevant in today's secular society.'

I thought it showed that church attendance was at an all time low. I mean, come on, once a year, that's like going to church just to attend the Christmas special, or maybe one wedding a year, and even then 78% of the people can't make it.

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18. Comment #87684 by ksskidude on November 12, 2007 at 8:49 pm

What gives? I thought you Brits had your act together. This is most troubling news. Who can we Americans turn to for leadership?

Let me pray on it and I'll get back to you all with the answers! hehe

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19. Comment #87711 by Dinah on November 12, 2007 at 11:32 pm

There are lies, damned lies and religious statistics, or should that be 'statistics compiled by the religious'?

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20. Comment #87732 by gcdavis on November 13, 2007 at 1:49 am

This "poll" flies in the face of every independent survey carried out in the UK in recent years

The reseachers (Taylor Nelson Sofres) seem to be bona fide, we will never know what Tearfund did with the data.

Data processing
After coding and editing the data, weighting was applied to correct for any minor imbalances in the achieved sample profile. The weighting matrix incorporated sex, age, social grade and region. Cross tabulations were produced for each questions against key demographic variables. These data remain confidential to
Tearfund.

Source:
http://www.tearfund.org/webdocs/Website/News/Prayer%20in%20the%20UK%20RESEARCH%20METHODS.pdf

Call me a heartless cynic but praying didn't do the McCann's much good.

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21. Comment #87733 by gcdavis on November 13, 2007 at 1:56 am

May I suggest that these may have been some of the prayers offered.

"Oh god I feel like shit why did I drink so much last night!.

"God help that little git when I get my hands on him"!

"Oh god would I like to get in her knickers"

"Oh god I think I slept with my girlfiends sister last night"

"God helps those who help themselves but god help those that I catch helping themselves"!

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22. Comment #87745 by irate_atheist on November 13, 2007 at 2:48 am

Another poll showed that 5 out of 10 adults were below average intelligence...

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23. Comment #87780 by fiagottpf on November 13, 2007 at 5:03 am

Could these two ladies be related?

"The questionnaire was designed by Tearfund, in conjunction with Jacinta Ashworth, an independent research consultant of Research Matters"

From (http://www.researchmatters.co.uk/about.html)
Jacinta Ashworth
Research Matters
Bridle Road,
Maidenhead,
Berks
SL6

==================================================
From
http://www.st-pandm.freeserve.co.uk/Mag2000Apr.html

St Peters with St Marks parish church,
Furze Platt,
Maidenhead
Berkshire

From The Parish Magazine of April 2000 ...

"They stand at the front of St. Peter's each Sunday morning and lead the songs of worship and praise but... who are the Music Group ...
... the group now has Jacinta Ashworth as an additional pianist"

(later editions are not online)

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24. Comment #87782 by stephenray on November 13, 2007 at 5:13 am

Who on earth has the view that "faith is increasingly irrelevant in today's secular society"?

It *ought* to be, but any observer more complex than a jellyfish can see that it isn't.

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25. Comment #87786 by SMART on November 13, 2007 at 5:59 am

Oooooh you nasty, cynical people. So many people pray because prayer works! God loves us all and He listens to our prayers and sometimes responds (depending on his mood at the time). For instance, 3 years ago my friend, who is a paraplegic, prayed to God and asked Him to provide him with a new wheelchair. Well, lo and behold, last week a paraplegic friend of his died and left him his almost new wheelchair. You see, you just have to have faith!
http://www.smartsociety.org/prayingforthesick1.html

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26. Comment #87792 by Rtambree on November 13, 2007 at 6:24 am

That's right SMART, I pray every night for the sun to rise the next day, and the Lord makes it happen.

22. Comment #87745 by irate_atheist

>Another poll showed that 5 out of 10 adults were below average intelligence...

Good one - a pity we can't get an IQ break-up of the article's statistics. Here in England, I've often found it's both the lower working classes and upper classes that don't bother much with religion - it seems to be most prevalent in the middle classes.

Other Comments by Rtambree

27. Comment #87793 by hungarianelephant on November 13, 2007 at 6:24 am

So let me see if I have this straight.

Two in five people say they pray. But of those, at least one in six doesn't believe that God is watching over them.

On the other hand, of those who do believe God is watching over them, at least two thirds don't pray about "world issues".

Excellent survey, chaps.

Other Comments by hungarianelephant

28. Comment #87857 by Tyler Durden on November 13, 2007 at 11:53 am

And in the inimitable words of comedian Steven Wright:
"42.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot." Class :-)

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29. Comment #88099 by Ty_Webb on November 14, 2007 at 4:58 pm

No it demonstrates (if done correctly) the prevalence of prayer. It says nothing about potential. You might as well say that the large number of people who buy some kind of lottery ticket demonstrates the potential of lotteries to solve poverty. If all the people who bought a ticket actually won we wouldn't need to spend any more taxes on welfare.

Michael

I was going to say something similar, but then I had another think about it. I think it says quite a lot about the potential of prayer. Millions of people are praying for world issues and it's not making the blindest bit of difference. To my mind that says all that needs to be said about the potential of prayer.

As an aside, how do I get the quotes to work? Thanks hungarianelephant

Other Comments by Ty_Webb

30. Comment #88171 by hungarianelephant on November 15, 2007 at 3:14 am

Ty_Webb - use

< blockquote >

and

< /blockquote >

without the spaces.

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31. Comment #88214 by SpeakerToAnimals2 on November 15, 2007 at 11:16 am

This does our ancestors a disservice -- they were just as smart as us. Mind you, there was probably just as much social stigma back then as there used to be recently if you didn't pay correct attention to whatever the local religion was.

Someone had to get those megaliths erected you know! And any group that could construct Silbury Hill, Avebury and Stonehenge were far from primitive. Mind you, geezers back then probably used the same arguments as now -- look at these lovely monuments, how can you doubt (insert name here) when we have constructed such beautiful monuments in (his/her/their) name.

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