Christian vote could swing General Election

Christian vote could swing General Election
The results of the next General Election could be determined by which party can appeal best to Christians, theology think-tank Theos has claimed. Current forecasts suggest ‘We’re in hung parliament territory,’ Theos director, Paul Woolley, said. And while a Theos survey showed that support for Conservatives had risen from 21 to 34 per cent since 2005, among Christians it has only crept up from 38 to 40 per cent. The survey revealed Christians almost evenly split with 21 per cent thinking the Conservatives have been most sympathetic to them and 20 per cent feeling this about Labour. ‘Labour is in a position where it could benefit from reaching out especially to Christians,’ Mr Woolley said. Christian attendance at the ballot box is usually strong – with 48 per cent saying they are ‘absolutely certain’ to vote. And 81 per cent of 18- to 24-year-old Christians told an Evangelical Alliance survey they would be making use of their first vote.

Sources: Church of England Newspaper (26/2); Church Times (26/2)

Four out of five Britons repudiate creationism

‘Belief map’ uncovers British views of origins

A survey of over two thousand people has identified the regions of the UK where religious views of creation are weakest and strongest. The east of England stood out as the region where the largest proportion (44 per cent) believed the theory of evolution removes any need for God. Literal readings of the Bible were strongest in Northern Ireland where 25 per cent believed in creationism and 16 per cent in ‘intelligent design’ (the belief that certain aspects of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause). In Wales, belief in theistic evolution (38 per cent) was the highest. The poll was commissioned by the Theos think tank to mark the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth.

Sources: The Guardian (2/3), Daily Telegraph (2/3)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/02/charles-darwin-creationism-intelligent-design
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/4926271/Four-out-of-five-Britons-do-not-believe-in-creationism.html