A recent survey in Britain shows that most millennials do not see Britain as a Christian country, but as a nation with no specific religious identity.
The survey was carried out by ComRes, which is to be published on Thursday, as part of the launch of the new Faith Research Centre which will be opened later this month. The Centre will carry out research for politicians, policy makers, employers and others to understand religion's role in the world.
At least 2,048 British adults online were interviewed by ComRes from January 4 to 5, 2017.
In the results, at least a third of millennials aged 18-24 described Britain as a Christian country. More than 4 in 10 of these young citizens said that Britain does not have a specific religious identity.
The survey also said that half of the millennials interviewed in the survey said that the country's politicians and policy-makers should have a good understanding of religion, and that understanding religion "is important to tackling terrorism around the world."
Faith Research Centre's director Katie Harrison remarked, "In some of the questions we asked, adults aged between 18-24 and adult aged 65+ answered at opposite ends of the scale, indicating marked differences between generations in perceptions of religion and belief."
"This is consistent with some of the projects we've recently been commissioned to carry out. We're seeing a strong interest in understanding the attitudes and needs of people in their 20s, especially in our faith research work."
Harrison, who formerly worked for Christian global charity Tearfund, also shared some tidbits regarding the new centre,
"Having worked in local communities in the UK as well as in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa in refugee camps, urban slums and rural villages, I'm clear that religion and belief plays a huge part in many people's lives, and to overlook it is to misunderstand important drivers of behaviour and culture.
"We don't yet have easily accessible authoritative data in the UK and Europe, and this is a gap in knowledge which we aim to fill."
Andrew Hawkins, ComRes founder and chairman, also said: "We have become the first choice for clients seeking to research attitudes, perceptions and behaviour relating to religion and belief and already have a strong client base within academic, media, commercial, faith and public sectors. Demand has increased and we are very well placed to create a centre of excellence in this area. We believe that this is the UK's first dedicated commercial capability with specific expertise in researching religion and belief."
