23% of British Christians Don’t Believe in the Resurrection

By Alison Lesley --
12 Apr 2017 --

UK study finds 1 in 4 Christians do not believe in the resurrection of Jesus.

Every Christian is familiar with the Biblical tale of the saving of humanity by Jesus Christ, believed to be the Son of God. In the Christian Bible, Christ brought salvation to humankind by dying on a cross then coming back to life three days later. The death and resurrection of the Savior are the reasons Christians will celebrate Easter, to commemorate that version of events. Thus, the results of a survey conducted in Britain that shows that a quarter of Christians do not believe in the resurrection was indeed surprising.

23% of British Christians Don’t Believe in the Resurrection[/tweetthis]

The Statistics

The survey, commissioned by the BBC local radio station for Palm Sunday, was conducted by ComRes. ComRes undertook the study by contacting about 2,010 British adults in early February 2017 and questioning them about their beliefs of Easter and the Bible. ComRes presented their findings in three groups namely the ‘general public,' the ‘active Christians,' who go to church at least once a month, and ‘all Christians.'

In the first wave of the study, participants were questioned on their belief in the Bible, word-for-word. 17 percent of all participants said they believed in the Bible word-for-word. Of all Christians, 31 percent expressed the same belief while 57 percent of active Christians completely believed the Bible.

The next question posed to the participating pool was whether or not they accepted the resurrection of Jesus Christ as truth. Half of the respondents stated they did not believe the event took place. An astonishing 23 percent of Christians said they did not believe Christ had risen[/tweetit] while a whopping nine percent of non-religious people remarked they did. The belief among the non-religious group was contingent on whether they thought the resurrection happened literally, however, with one percent accepting it as literal fact.

Next, they were asked if they believe in life after death. Options for life after death varied with everything from Heaven and Hell to dying and waking up in alternate universes being covered. At 46 percent each, the percentage of those who thought there was life after death and those who did not was equal among members of the general public. A fifth of non-Christian people confirmed a belief in life after death, while one third of Christians did not. The belief also varied with gender, with 56 percent of women more likely to believe in eternal life in contrast to 36 percent for men.

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The study additionally showed that British youth (18-24) were more active Christians than their adult counterparts (45-64).

What the Survey Revealed

According to Anglican Bishop of Manchester David Walker and Philosophy and Religious Professor at Lancaster University Linda Woodhead, the survey showed there was no longer a strict line between religious and secular people because even atheists had core Christian beliefs.

Interesting poll on beliefs in British society on the BBC – Resurrection did not happen, say quarter of Christians – https://t.co/VfbxuV0ZAx
— Steve Fouch ن (@SteveFouch) April 9, 2017

Reverend Dr. Lorraine Cavanagh, the interim General Secretary for the theology-promoting group Modern Church, called the results of the study a sign of religious progression. She stated the survey’s outcome showed that an adult’s faith progressed with age as it was challenged like ‘science or philosophy,' so beliefs like that in resurrection evolved from childhood. “The same is true for many of the elements of the Christian faith,” Cavanagh concluded.