A new poll has revealed that Christians in Britain are less confident in discussing their religious beliefs than most other faith groups.
Conducted by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life, the survey showed that 38 per cent of Christians prefer not to share their faith, compared to 29 per cent of Muslims who feel the same way.
Speaking to Premier Christian News, Dr Jake Scott, the institute’s secretary, said the percentage mostly represents cultural Christians.
“What that means is that you might get people responding to polls asking ‘what is your faith’, and I'm saying ‘Christian’ because it's almost the default. However, if you look at the 28 per cent of Christians that are ‘exclusivist’ - which means that they believe Christianity is the only true religion - there's a higher correlation between believing Christianity is the only true religion and willingness to talk about the faith,” Dr Scott said.
“So what this means is when we talk about cultural Christianity is a sense that people might identify, in a broad sense as Christian, but not have the depth or conviction of faith, to actually translate that into a willingness to express that, or a competence to talk about that in public life,” he continued.
Among other insights, the survey found that only 28 per cent of Christians believe Christianity is the only true religion.
Additionally, only 50 per cent of Christians say their faith helps them find purpose in life, which is lower than the percentages for Muslims (88 per cent), Hindus (70 per cent), and Buddhists (80 per cent). Only Jews and Sikhs reported lower figures, at 33 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively. However, among Exclusivist Christians, this figure rises to 87 per cent.
The survey also highlighted a generational decline in the appreciation of Christian heritage's role in British culture. Only 46 per cent of 18-24-year-olds consider it important, compared to 74 per cent of those over 65.
Over 2,000 people participated in the survey, sharing insights into their personal faith and its influence on public life, education, and media.