Monday, September 12, 2011

Research finds evangelical Christians are more active citizens

New research has revealed that evangelical Christians are more active in their communities than others.

In an online survey of more than 1,000 evangelical Christians, a quarter said they were trustees of a registered charity, compared to the national average of 2.2%.

Nine per cent are serving as school governors, compared to 0.7% nationally, and four in 100 are members of a political party, compared to the national average of 1.3%.

An impressive nine in 10 voted in the AV referendum, compared to the UK-wide turnout of 42%.

The study also asked respondents about their opinions on current affairs. While nearly three quarters were against the 2003 invasion of Iraq, just over half backed the Allied intervention in Libya.

When it came to faith, evangelical Christians overwhelmingly they expressed their confidence in the central message of Christianity, that Jesus died for our sins and rose again from the dead.

The latest findings are published in 'Does belief touch society?' – the first in a series of follow-ups to the landmark 21st Century Evangelicals survey of 17,000 Christians conducted last year by the Evangelical Alliance and Christian Research.

Steve Clifford, general director of the Evangelical Alliance, said: “Evangelical Christians are not bystanders. We are actively involved in our communities. We hope that this report, by holding up a mirror, will inspire us to seek – and be certain of - God’s truth in our lives and our communities.”

'Does belief touch society?' is available to download and order from www.eauk.org/snapshot/does-belief-touch-society.cfm