Most people believe in life after death, study finds
Most people believe in life after death, study finds ....
The majority of people in the UK believe in heaven and life after death, according
to the findings of new research.
A survey of 2,060 people showed 53 per cent believe in life after death, 55 per
cent believe in heaven and 70 per cent believe in the human soul.
The study carried out between October and November last year for the public
theology think tank Theos also showed nearly four in 10, or 39 per cent, believe
in ghosts and more than a quarter (27 per cent) believe in reincarnation.
A further 22 per cent believe in astrology or horoscopes and 15 per cent believe
in fortune telling or Tarot, the research revealed.
Half of people in London, the highest proportion in the UK, believe in ghosts, the
survey showed.
Scotland had the highest number of people who believe in fortune telling or
Tarot at 18 per cent and Wales had the highest proportion of people who believe
in reincarnation at 32 per cent.
Theos said the comparison with the 1950s was "especially striking".
In 1950, it said, only 10 per cent of the public told Gallup that they believed in
ghosts, and just 2 per cent thought they had seen one.
In 1951, only 7 per cent of the public said they believed in predicting the future
by cards and 6 per cent by stars.
But the organization said the latest research showed an increase in skepticism
about certain aspects of the supernatural.
In a 1998 Mori poll, 18 per cent of the public said they believed in fortune telling
and 38 per cent in astrology. A further 40 per cent said they believed in ghosts,
and 15 per cent said that they had personal experience of ghosts.
Theos director Paul Woolley said: "The enlightenment optimism in the ability of
science and reason to explain everything ended decades ago.
"The extent of belief will probably surprise people, but the finding is consistent
with other research we have undertaken.
"The results indicate that people have a very diverse and unorthodox set of
beliefs.
"Our research may point to a slight increase in skepticism about aspects of the
supernatural over the last 10 years."