“Unprecedented” research into attitudes into faith, belief and God, was revealed today and indicated that for most individuals worldwide, God is a reality.
Over a period of three years, 90,000 people in 85 countries were questioned in depth about their views on the Bible and faith as a part of the research conducted by Gallup on behalf of the British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS) and United Bible Societies (UBS).
“The Patmos Initiative”, because the research is named, divided the world into seven “clusters” or mission contexts.
Cluster 1, for instance, included places just like the Sahel or Pakistan, and was defined as “a majority-Muslim context with economic barriers to Bible engagement and a low-resourced Christian minority”.
By contrast, Cluster 2 includes countries in central eastern Europe which have “a declining Christian majority with low religious importance and a growing secular minority.”
The UK was among the many countries in Cluster 5 – secular Western contexts – where even in these regions, 62% imagine in God.
The research found that in five of the seven clusters most individuals said that religion is vital to their day by day life. A majority of individuals in all clusters imagine in God or a better power.
The initiative highlighted that in parts of the world, knowledge of the Bible and Christianity stays staggeringly low.
In some parts of Asia, particularly southeast Asia and India, as many as three quarters of individuals know nothing in any respect concerning the Bible. Over half of individuals in such places don’t even know the Bible exists. In parts of Asia, for instance, over 56% of individuals have never heard of the Bible.
The research also suggested that over 1 / 4 of the world’s Christian population still don’t own a Bible in a language they will understand.
However, the study also revealed broad support for youngsters to know Bible stories, with over two thirds (70%) of all respondents globally agreeing that this was an excellent thing. One in 10 non-Christians (11%) were excited by learning more concerning the Bible – equating to some 250 million people.
Bible use amongst Christians was found to be highest in places where they’re a minority, as an example Muslim majority countries, and lowest within the secular West.
Shockingly, nearly a 3rd of Christians worldwide don’t see the Bible as relevant to them personally, although again, that is more pronounced within the West. Less than half (42%) of all Christian respondents said they use the Bible on a weekly basis.
Richard Powney, project lead for The Patmos Initiative, said, “The data challenges many prevailing narratives concerning the decline of faith globally … In five of the seven global contexts we studied, nearly all of people still consider religion a very important a part of their day by day lives.”
Dirk Gevers, Secretary General of United Bible Societies said, “The findings of The Patmos Initiative provide essentially the most accurate and comprehensive picture yet of how people truly engage with Scripture. They represent each a source of encouragement and a call to motion for Christians world wide.
“Our hope is that The Patmos Initiative will encourage a renewed and widespread commitment to advancing each Bible availability and meaningful engagement.”
 “Unprecedented” research into attitudes into faith, belief and God, was revealed today and indicated that for most individuals worldwide, God is a reality....){kind=link}