Young more likely to pray than over-55s – survey

Young people in the UK are twice as likely as older people to pray regularly, a new survey has found.

Some 51% of 18 to 34-year-olds polled by Savanta ComRes said they pray at least once a month, compared with 24% of those aged 55 and over.

It also found 49% of the younger age group attend a place of worship every month, compared with 6% of over-55s.

The associate director of Savanta said the numbers could reflect the move to online worship during the pandemic.

Chris Hopkins added that there were “a few theories” as to why young people made up such a large proportion of the religious landscape.

“Firstly, as the demography of the UK changes, minority faiths do tend to have a larger proportion of practising young people, and therefore as the population of these groups increases within the UK, so will the prayer habits of the population at large,” he said.

He explained it was important to “factor in the impact the pandemic has had on the ability to engage with one’s faith” with virtual prayers and services being held online.

“It is possible that the pandemic opened up more avenues to prayer to young people, and this is reflected in the findings,” he said.

Read here

see also:

Christianity is ‘a refreshing alternative to woke culture’ says columnist. Interview with Caroline Farrow GB News.

and (from 2020) a plea for caution in how we interpret these seemingly hopeful surveys: What might growth in “online worship” mean for the church? by Andrew Symes, Anglican Mainstream

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