The Christian Post: Most Western Europeans No Longer Believe in Heaven and Hell, Survey Finds
WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, December 11, 2017 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Stoyan Zaimov of the Christian Post website has written an article on the findings of the global market and opinion research specialist Ipsos’ latest poll on people's perceptions of major religious beliefs.
The survey called "Perils of Perception" consisted of 29,133 interviews and was conducted by Ipsos in 38 countries worldwide, in the period between September 28 – October 19. According to its findings, relatively small portions of the populations in Western countries believe in Heaven and Hell, though the perception of such beliefs consistently skews higher. For instance, people in Spain think that 43 percent of Spaniards believe in Hell, while only 19 percent actually say they do; Swedes think that 37 percent of their compatriots believe in God, and only 22 percent actually report they do.
Another trend is that people worldwide, and in the West specifically, are more inclined to believe in God than in the concepts of Heaven and Hell. “As a whole, greater numbers said that they have faith in God than those who said they believe in Heaven and Hell”, notes the author. To illustrate this disparity in the Westerners’ belief systems further, the article quotes Graham Nichols, the director of the network of Christian organisations ‘Affinity’: "It's difficult to reconcile some of them. Quite a large proportion identify as Christians and yet quite a small proportion believe in Heaven and Hell, so you wonder what those who identify as Christian actually believe."
While the Ipsos survey did not provide statistics on specific religions, a decline in Christianity in the West has been well documented in recent years, reminds Stoyan Zaimov, citing the figures from the previous ComRes surveys on the state of Christian faith in Britain.
Stoyan Zaimov
The Christian Post
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