After just over a year of lockdown, a new study has found the coronavirus pandemic has raised a host of questions – particularly around belief in God, religious practice and death.
To mark the launch of Season 3 of The Big Conversation – a series of video debates featuring some of the biggest intellectual thinkers across the religious and atheistic spectrum – Savanta Com Res has released a new survey, commissioned by Premier Christian Radio, that shines a light on the impact the pandemic has had on people’s spiritual beliefs and behaviours.
It found 67% of those who call themselves religious have questioned their belief during the pandemic. Meanwhile, 24% are more fearful towards dying because of the pandemic, with the figure rising slightly among the religious at 27%.
The survey of 2,092 UK adults also showed that a third of people say that the pandemic has had an effect on their prayer life. However, there is no consensus on whether it’s made us more or less likely to pray. Sixteen percent have increased their prayer and 15% have decreased.
Unbelievable? presenter, Justin Brierley, who hosts The Big Conversation said the pandemic has raised major issues for those with spiritual leanings and none:
“A year of living in the pandemic has caused many of us to re-evaluate life. The survey shows that whether we are religious or non-religious, we are all more aware of our own mortality. However, it was interesting to see just how many people of faith have been led to doubt the existence of a loving God. I believe that our opening Big Conversation on God, suffering and the pandemic will help people to find answers to their questions.”
In the first of the six-episode Big Conversation series Brierley welcomes Los Angeles-based Bishop Robert Barron, founder of Word on Fire, along with Alex O’Connor who is a Philosophy & Theology student at Oxford University.