Over half of Britons believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, according to new research published today by Theos, a British theological think tank.The publication of the research coincides with the launch of The Passion, the major new drama for Easter on the main BBC channel which begins this Sunday.
Theos says the series will inevitably raise questions as to whether he really did rise from the dead.
They say that their survey suggests that, for the majority of the population, this question has already been answered.
Some 57 per cent of people questioned in the ComRes poll said they believe that Jesus was executed by crucifixion, buried and rose from the dead, with over half of those (30 per cent of the total sample) accepting the traditional Christian belief in the bodily resurrection of Christ and the rest (27 per cent) believing that Jesus rose in spirit form.
This widespread belief clearly informs people’s more general attitude to life after death. Over half of people said they believe in some kind of existence after death, although most of those (44 per cent of the total) believe that 'your spirit lives on after death'. Only nine per cent said they believe in a personal physical resurrection.
The Theos research also examined who people thought Jesus was. Two in five (40 per cent) said they believe that Jesus was the son of God and nearly half (47 per cent) that he was a holy prophet. When asked whether they thought Jesus was a good man and wise teacher, 66 per cent of people agreed. Only 11 per cent disagreed. But 13 per cent of people claim that Jesus never existed.
On the question of Easter’s significance today, 43 per cent of those questioned believe that the Easter story is about Jesus dying for the sins of the world while only 26 per cent think that the Easter story has no meaning today. Only one per cent think the story shows that violence can only be defeated through violence.
Some 23 per cent of respondents identified themselves as atheists, but 14 per cent of these think Easter was about Jesus dying for the sins of the world, 12 per cent believe he rose again from the dead, and seven per cent think he was son of God.
Commenting on the results of the research, Paul Woolley, Director of Theos said: "The aim of this project was to examine people's beliefs about the Easter story and the idea of resurrection.
"The fact that over half of Britons believe that Jesus rose from the dead is particularly striking and demonstrates that society is not as 'secular' as we often imagine it to be.
"Britain is arguably becoming more polarised on issues of religious faith given the exact split between people who do and do not believe in life after death.
"The fact that younger people are less clear about what they believe than older generations reflects a more general rejection of the certainties of the past amongst that age group, whether religious or atheistic.
"It is interesting that only 9 per cent of all people and 42 per cent of church-going Christians believe in a personal physical resurrection after death given the centrality of this belief in Christianity since its conception. The belief that after death the soul escapes to heaven is shaped by Plato rather than the Bible."
The Rt Rev Tom Wright, Anglican Bishop of Durham, added: "The results show a healthy number of people who do still believe in what the New Testament teaches both about Jesus and about their own ultimate future, but also a fair amount of predictable confusion about what 'resurrection' itself actually is.
"'Resurrection' isn't a fancy way of saying 'life after death'; it's a way of talking about a further stage, life after 'life after death'. What the survey does show, though, is that the great majority of people still clearly care about Jesus and regard him highly. It would have been much more depressing if most of them had said 'don't know, don't care'!"
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