Jesus: Man, Myth or God? Research Study on England’s Christian Beliefs

By Derek Welch --
14 Feb 2016 --

Study on the Perceptions of Jesus, Christians & Evangelism in the U.K.

As Christians all over the globe gathered to commemorate Ash Wednesday, the Church of England (Evangelical Alliance and HOPE) has published research to find out U.K. Christians’ perception and understanding of Jesus and Evangelism.

Jesus: Man, Myth or God? Research Study on England’s Christian Beliefs[/tweetthis]

A special task force of the Barna Group was commissioned to try and find out what Christians adults in the U.K. know about Jesus and how often do Christians in the U.K. talk about having faith in Jesus among themselves or even to non-Christians.

According to the research, on the question of whether Jesus was indeed a real man or myth, more adults attested to the fact that he was a real person. This was represented by 61 percent where six out of ten U.K. adults confirmed that.

Despite believing in Jesus as a historical person, most of the U.K. adults challenge his divine power. It is only 22 percent of the U.K. Christians who holds to the conviction that Jesus Christ was “God in human form that lived among people in the 1st Century.”

Different ethnic communities also held different views and according to them, they agree that Jesus was a real person. However, they hold different opinions when it comes to believing whether Jesus is God. It can be attributed to the fact that various ethnic groups in the U.K. belong to different religions.

The question of the resurrection of Jesus also received a mixed reaction. According to the research, only 44 percent of the U.K. adults believe that the resurrection indeed occurred. They believe that the event occurred as clearly outlined in the Bible. The other group made up of 26 percent of the U.K. adults was of the opinion that the Bible “contains some content which should not be taken literally.”

Most of the Non-Christian testified that they know many friends who practice Christianity. They said that they liked spending time with Christians. This is attributed to the cherished Christian values such as being humble, friendly and caring.

The question regarding Evangelism to Non-Christians was also researched. Most Non-Christians did not embrace the concept of Christianity when evangelized about it. Others did not find any impact of Christianity after Evangelism while a small percentage usually sympathizes with Christian after listening about Jesus. When Christians in the U.K. talk about Jesus, they often receive mixed reactions from Non-Christians.

Although the Christian’s effort of Evangelism has not augured well with Non-Christians in the U.K., a majority of the Christians still believes that they have a duty to spread the gospel. Therefore, they emphasize on continuous Evangelism about Jesus Christ in the U.K. and every Christian should also live holy lives according to Christian values so as to communicate about Christian values to Non-Christians in the U.K.