Reports of Britain’s descent into atheism seem to have been a little premature. According to a new survey, 72% of the population believe in some kind of god, while almost as many – 69% – associate themselves with a particular religion.
But the proportion of believers who said they attended a religious service once a week or more was just 24%. This compared with 61% in Poland, and 72% in Turkey.
When asked the same question, 20% of those who did identify with a particular religion answered “almost never”, while another 22% said only between once and four times a year.
The survey, conducted for the Wall Street Journal Europe, interviewed more than 21,000 people aged 15 and over in 21 countries. It found that in the UK, 40% of people identified themselves as Protestants, 29% as Catholics and 4% as Muslims.
Britain was noticeably behind other countries when it came to religious affiliations. In the US, 75% of people professed a specific faith, while in Italy the figure was 85%, and in Romania 97%.
