‘You shall not kill’ is UK’s favourite commandment
-14/12/04
‘You shall not kill’ i
‘You shall not kill’ is UK’s favourite commandment
-14/12/04
‘You shall not kill’ is the commandment that most people in the UK feel is relevant to their lives, according to a new survey commissioned to coincide with the UK TV premiere of Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion of the Christ.
The survey, conducted by YouGov for Sky Box Office, also revealed that almost a third of people in the UK do not know Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
Asked ìCan you name the town where the Bible says Jesus was born?î, 28% of respondents said they did not know.
Of the 10 commandments, number two in the rankings was ìHonour your mother and fatherî, followed by ìYou shall not stealî and ìYou shall not commit adulteryî.
The least relevant of the 10 Commandments was identified as ìI am the Lord your God, you shall have no other gods before meî.
According to the gospels this was the commandment that Jesus Christ singled out as the most important.
The poll was put together in consultation with The Very Reverend John Drury, Chaplain at All Souls College, Oxford.
2,000 people were surveyed, and asked questions including what happened on Easter Day, and who was the first man in the Bible.
Mr Drury said: ìIt is interesting to note that that ëYou shall not killí comes top in relevance, with honouring parents second. This suggests that valuing human life is key to religion for a lot people and they are averse to belligerence and fond of their homes.
ìThis is not so surprising, but the favouring of ëYou shall not killí may well be a feature of contemporary life and a feeling which may not have shown up so strongly in 1914-18 for example.
ìThe current situation in Iraq may have influenced people.î
He added: ìThe questions were designed to be very basic but it is remarkable that 70% of all those surveyed gave correct answers. There have been times in the past when it might have been higher. However, Christian basics nowadays seems to be better than I expected.î
The survey is published just two days after the Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope, said that Britain would be ìhard-pushedî to call itself a Christian country.
The research showed the over-50s fared significantly better than 18 to 29-year-olds when answering these knowledge-based questions:
Who is the first man in the Bible? (73% said Adam: 83% of church-goers; 70% of non-practising Christians);
Can you name the town where the Bible says Jesus was born? (72% said Bethlehem: 85% of church-goers; 71% of non-practising Christians);
What is the name of the special table normally found at the east end of a church? (61% said altar: 66% of church-goers; 62% of non-practising Christians);
Can you name the authors of the four gospels in the New Testament? (71% named Luke and John and 70% named Matthew and Mark: of church-goers Luke 80%, John 78%, Matthew 78%, Mark 80%; of non-practising Christians Luke 71%, John 72%, Matthew 70%, Mark 69%);
What was Jesusís race or nationality? (71% said Jewish: 83% of church-goers; 72% of non-practising Christians);
According to Christian religion, what was supposed to have happened on Easter Day? (85% said the Resurrection: 92% of church-goers; 88% of non-practising Christians).
Earlier this year, the Methodist Church ran a campaign exploring a possible new 11th commandment: ‘Stop war’; ‘Reduce emissions’; ‘Eat more donuts’; ‘Remove all packaging’; ‘Never give out your password’ and ‘Do not disturb’ were all flagged as possibilities.
‘You shall not kill’ is UK’s favourite commandment
-14/12/04
‘You shall not kill’ is the commandment that most people in the UK feel is relevant to their lives, according to a new survey commissioned to coincide with the UK TV premiere of Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion of the Christ.
The survey, conducted by YouGov for Sky Box Office, also revealed that almost a third of people in the UK do not know Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
Asked ìCan you name the town where the Bible says Jesus was born?î, 28% of respondents said they did not know.
Of the 10 commandments, number two in the rankings was ìHonour your mother and fatherî, followed by ìYou shall not stealî and ìYou shall not commit adulteryî.
The least relevant of the 10 Commandments was identified as ìI am the Lord your God, you shall have no other gods before meî.
According to the gospels this was the commandment that Jesus Christ singled out as the most important.
The poll was put together in consultation with The Very Reverend John Drury, Chaplain at All Souls College, Oxford.
2,000 people were surveyed, and asked questions including what happened on Easter Day, and who was the first man in the Bible.
Mr Drury said: ìIt is interesting to note that that ëYou shall not killí comes top in relevance, with honouring parents second. This suggests that valuing human life is key to religion for a lot people and they are averse to belligerence and fond of their homes.
ìThis is not so surprising, but the favouring of ëYou shall not killí may well be a feature of contemporary life and a feeling which may not have shown up so strongly in 1914-18 for example.
ìThe current situation in Iraq may have influenced people.î
He added: ìThe questions were designed to be very basic but it is remarkable that 70% of all those surveyed gave correct answers. There have been times in the past when it might have been higher. However, Christian basics nowadays seems to be better than I expected.î
The survey is published just two days after the Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope, said that Britain would be ìhard-pushedî to call itself a Christian country.
The research showed the over-50s fared significantly better than 18 to 29-year-olds when answering these knowledge-based questions:
Who is the first man in the Bible? (73% said Adam: 83% of church-goers; 70% of non-practising Christians);
Can you name the town where the Bible says Jesus was born? (72% said Bethlehem: 85% of church-goers; 71% of non-practising Christians);
What is the name of the special table normally found at the east end of a church? (61% said altar: 66% of church-goers; 62% of non-practising Christians);
Can you name the authors of the four gospels in the New Testament? (71% named Luke and John and 70% named Matthew and Mark: of church-goers Luke 80%, John 78%, Matthew 78%, Mark 80%; of non-practising Christians Luke 71%, John 72%, Matthew 70%, Mark 69%);
What was Jesusís race or nationality? (71% said Jewish: 83% of church-goers; 72% of non-practising Christians);
According to Christian religion, what was supposed to have happened on Easter Day? (85% said the Resurrection: 92% of church-goers; 88% of non-practising Christians).
Earlier this year, the Methodist Church ran a campaign exploring a possible new 11th commandment: ‘Stop war’; ‘Reduce emissions’; ‘Eat more donuts’; ‘Remove all packaging’; ‘Never give out your password’ and ‘Do not disturb’ were all flagged as possibilities.