UK Christians are happier with their lives than those with none faith, a recent poll has found.
In the survey of 10,000 adult Brits by the Belonging Forum, nearly three-quarters of Christians (72%) and members of the Church of England (73%) said they were satisfied with their lives.
This was considerably higher than the 2 thirds (65%) of non-religious who said the identical.
Faith was also linked to neighbourliness, with half of all religious people saying that they speak to their neighbours on a weekly basis – in comparison with 44% of the final population.
Other findings revealed a more mixed picture. While one in five of the final population (19%) said that they had never felt lonely, this rose to 34% of Anglicans over the age of 65, but fell to 11% amongst younger Anglicans below the age of 34.
Anglicans aged 18 to 24 reported high levels of life satisfaction, with 78% agreeing that their lives are worthwhile. However, 7% said they didn’t have any close friends – higher than 3% for that the final average on this age cohort.
Anglicans aged 25 to 34 were more more likely to say they felt lonely often or at all times (19%) in comparison with the final population (11%).
Kim Samuel, founding father of the Belonging Forum, said, “Our extensive research identified several aspects (housing status, disability status, age) that correlate with higher social connectedness —and we found having faith is linked to a deep sense of belonging.
“This insight underscores the vital role that faith communities proceed to play in nurturing social bonds and providing a way of belonging and purpose within the UK. In particular, the Belonging Barometer unveiled that almost all Christians within the UK feel a robust sense of attachment to their community which reaps rewards.
“Christian hospitality and compassion shone through the information, particularly a way of neighbourliness and inner contentment.
“The hope having a faith brings is a robust and universal social force for good. Active and energetic communities thrive on loving your neighbour and serving others. Notably, houses of worship bring different generations together to learn from one another and create bonds—something that’s, sadly, increasingly rare and which we’ll campaign for.”
