Christianity 'could die out within a century'
Pastor Dale Morgan
Christianity 'could die out within a century'*
By Laura Clout
Last Updated: 2:40PM BST 20/06/2008
More than half of Britons think Christianity is likely to have
disappeared from the country within a century, according to a survey.
Research by the Orthodox Jewish organisation Aish found that just over a
third of people thought religions like Christianity and Judaism would
still be practiced in Britain in 100 years' time.
Although four in 10 people said they would choose to be a member of the
Christian religion, almost the same number said they would rather
practice no religion at all.
Buddhism however, proved more attractive than both Islam and Judaism,
and was chosen by nine per cent of those questioned.
Aish UK's executive director Rabbi Naftali Schiff said the results of
the YouGov poll of 2,000 people were alarming.
"It clearly demonstrates that religion, including Judaism, is becoming
unattractive to the British public.
"At Aish we know that Judaism provides real meaning and enrichment to
one's life. Whilst we have attracted many disinterested Jews back to
Jewish identity it is clear there is much work to be done."
Research published earlier this year suggested that church attendance is
declining so fast that the number of regular churchgoers will be fewer
than those attending mosques within a generation.
According to Religious Trends, an analysis of religious practice in
Britain, the huge drop off in attendance means that the Church of
England, Catholicism and other denominations will become financially
unviable.
In contrast, the number of actively religious Muslims is predicted to
increase from about one million today to 1.96 million in 2035.