An astonishing new poll from YouGov shows that British youth (ages 18-24) are rejecting religion at levels we’ve never seen before:

When asked if they believe in God, only 25% say they do. 19% believe in some non-Godlike “spiritual greater power” and a further 38% believe in no God or spiritual power whatsoever.

Only a quarter of British youth believe in a God! That’s an incredibly low number, and it’s only slightly higher than the percentage of youth who are “spiritual but not religious.”

Even more striking:

The reputation of religion amongst young people is actually more negative than neutral: 41% agree that “religion is more often the cause of evil in the world” and only 14% say it is a cause for good.

And finally, when it comes to which people have the largest influence on their lives, religious leaders came in dead last:

If these results don’t mark a death knell for the Christian church in Britain, I don’t know what does.

The Rationalist Association puts these numbers in context:

Taken alongside larger surveys, including the 2011 Census, which found that 25 per cent have no religion, and the annual Social Attitudes Survey, which in 2011 found that half of Britons are non-religious, the YouGov poll suggests that secularisation is continuing at pace in the UK. … [The survey] does suggest that, for a significant proportion of young people in Britain, “non-religious” does essentially amount to atheist.

I think I can safely say: American atheists are jealous.



