Losing our religion? British Social Attitudes report

The British Social Attitudes report published this month appears to evidence a sharp decline in Christian belief over the last 35 years. In 1983 66% of the population identified as Christian, while by 2018 the figure had fallen to 38%. The percentage of the population attending religious services on a regular basis remained stable over the same period. It seems that  for many people ‘Christian’ is no longer a default label that bears little relation to what they actually believe and how they live. A key feature of the survey was ‘the rise of the nones’, with 52% of the public now saying they do not regard themselves as belonging to any religion. The United Kingdom is becoming a more secular country. Saying that, 55% still believe in some kind of divine being, 42% believe in life after death, and 50% pray, at least occasionally.

You might be surprised to hear me say that I welcome the results of the survey. I think it shows a more authentic and thoughtful approach to faith. In the past when asked about their religious allegiance people often used to say, ‘put me down as CofE’, irrespective of their personal convictions or habits of church attendance. Now people are more honest about their beliefs (or lack of them), which is a good thing. Odd as it may seem, church groupings that are trying hard to adapt to today’s more secular climate are declining. Meanwhile churches which maintain a firm belief in the teachings of the Bible are holding their own, or growing. That figures. What’s the point in going to church if the church itself doesn’t keep the faith? You can stay at home and not believe.

But you can’t have the benefits of the Christian faith while rejecting its teachings. Consistent atheists understand this. Richard Dawkins said, “The universe that we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference.” That must be the case if you don’t believe the universe was created by God to display his wisdom and goodness. In such a godless universe human beings are nothing special. According to Stephen Hawking, “The human race is just a chemical scum on a moderate-sized planet, orbiting around a very average star in the outer suburb of one among a hundred billion galaxies.” Bleak, eh?

Maybe that helps explain why belief in God is stubbornly persistent in the 21st century, despite bold predictions that faith will eventually fizzle out. Whatever may be happening here, globally the Christian faith is growing rapidly, especially in Africa, South America and China. In the secular West people sense that something is missing from their lives. The novelist Julian Barnes confessed, ‘I don’t believe in God, but I miss him’. The American journalist Hunter S. Thompson sighed, ‘All my life I have sought something I cannot name.’ We cannot escape a longing for transcendence that seems hardwired into the human mind. It seems losing our religion empties out our souls.

For many ‘nones’, however, all faith is a load of nonsense. We are well rid of ancient superstitions. Stephen Hawking quipped, ‘Heaven is a fairy story for people who are afraid of the dark.’ To which Christian thinker John Lennox cheekily responded, ‘Atheism is a fairy story for people afraid of the light’.  The Christian faith sets our little lives against the backdrop of eternity. Believing that there is a God to whom we must one day give an account is hardly a comforting thought. In the words of the Bible, 'it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment' (Hebrews 9:27). 

Human beings are not ‘chemical scum’ in a universe without meaning and purpose. We were made in the image of God that we might know God and live for his glory. In our sin we have turned our backs upon our Maker. But God loved us and sent his Son into the world to bring us back to him. That is why Jesus came as one of us to die in our place and rise again from the dead. A Christian is a person who believes these things to be true and dedicates their lives to following the Lord Jesus.

The British Social Attitudes report reveals that nominal Christianity is declining rapidly. And no wonder. A vague sense that people should be a bit nicer to each other doesn’t cut it. Neither can the God-free zone of secularism satisfy the deepest longings of the human soul. That 'something'  for which poor old Hunter S. Thompson sought, but could not name is in fact someone. His name is Jesus. He is the way, the truth and the life.