Public back Government financial support for church buildings
57% of British adults agree that the Government should provide financial support to churches in order to protect their heritage and history, according to a new opinion poll commissioned by the National Churches Trust.
The ComRes opinion poll on attitudes to church heritage also shows that the British public back churches being available for community use, in addition to being used as places of worship.
Half of British adults (49%) say that churches, chapels and meeting houses should be used as community centres in addition to being used as places of worship. Just 7% of Britons say that churches, chapels and meeting houses should not have uses other than as a place of worship.
Other key findings in the poll:
- More than four in five Britons (83%) agree that the UK’s churches, chapels and meeting houses are an important part of the UK’s heritage and history. The proportion of adults agreeing ranges from 89% for adults aged 65+ to 71% for 18 – 24 year olds.
- The majority of British adults (80%) agree that churches, chapels and meeting houses are important for society as they provide a space in which community activities can take place, as well as worship.
- Churches, chapels and meeting houses are seen by British adults as providing a range of important benefits for the UK. The top three most important perceived benefits are as places of worship (52%), as examples of beautiful architecture (51%) and as an important part of local identity (42%). Only 9% of Britons do not think that churches, chapels and meeting houses have any important benefits for the UK.
Church visits in 2016
According to the ComRes poll, 57% of British adults say they have visited a church, chapel or meeting house in the last year. That is equivalent to 33 million people.
The proportion of British adults who say that they have visited a church, chapel or meeting house for any reason in the last year remained consistent with the findings of a similar poll in 2015.The equivalent findings in 2015 were 57% who said they had visited a church, chapel or meeting house in the past year, compared to 43% who said they had not.
37% of British adults say that they have visited a church, chapel or meeting house for a religious service (such as Sunday worship, weddings and funerals) in the last year; 24% as a visitor or tourist; and 16% have visited a church, chapel or meeting house for a non-religious activity (such as playgroups, cultural events, meetings and lunch clubs) in the last year.
Women (40%) are more likely than men (34%) to report having visited a church, chapel, or meeting house for a religious service in the last year, and are also more likely to report having visited one for a non-religious activity (19% vs 13%).
Adults aged 65+ are almost twice as likely as those who are aged 18-24 to report having visited a church, chapel or meeting house for a religious service in the last year (51% vs 27%).
See the full data tables
More details
https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/2017poll
