A new Ipsos MORI poll has discovered that religion is still important to seven out of ten people globally. The survey investigated the views of over 18,000 people across 24 countries, including both developed and developing countries.
The survey also found that there was a notable difference between Christian and Muslim-dominated countries when it came to the role faith played in everyday life.
In Muslim-majority countries, 94% of those with a religion agreed that their faith was important in their lives, compared to 66% in Christian-majority countries.
61% of people in Muslim-majority countries believed their religion was the only true path to salvation compared to 19% in Christian-majority countries, while 61% of people Muslim-majority areas were likely to give time and money to others in need because of their faith compared to only 24% in Christian-dominated societies.
Interestingly enough, 73% of youth (people under the age of 35) around the globe affirmed that faith was important to them.
Chief executive of Ipsos MORI, Ben Page said: “The survey is a good reminder to many in western Europe of how much religion matters – and is a force for good – in much of the world.
“Our analysis shows people would rather keep politics separate from religion, but that in a globalising world, it still matters more than many in old Europe think.”
The former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, a practising Catholic and patron of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation was impressed by the results of the survey.
“This survey shows how much religion matters and that no analysis of the contemporary world, political or social, is complete without understanding the relationship between faith and globalisation," he said.
“The evidence is that, though people fear the prospect of religious strife, even here in Britain, there is much to encourage the view that people can learn to respect those of another faith and live with them peacefully.
“Inter-faith dialogue and action today is not just an interesting but peripheral minor subject, it is the essence, central to creating greater social cohesion and harmony.”