A Financial Times (FT)/Harris Poll conducted among adults in the
United States and in five European countries (France, Italy, Germany,
Great Britain and Spain) shows that Americans are more likely than
Europeans to believe in any form of God or Supreme Being (73%).
Of the European adults surveyed, Italians are the most likely to
express this belief (62%) and, in contrast, the French are the least
likely (27%).
Among those adults who stated they do have religious beliefs, almost two-thirds (62%) of Italians say they have the same religious beliefs as both their parents. In stark contrast, just under two in five (39%) British adults share the same religious beliefs as either of their parents. In the U.S. about half (48%) of adults who stated they have religious beliefs say they share the same as both of their parents.
The majority of respondents in all five European countries favour separation of church and state. However, majorities in only three of five countries favour the teaching of religion in state schools.
Across the five European countries surveyed, large majorities believe that the church and state should be kept separate in modern Europe. Adults in France (86%), Spain (84%) and Germany (77%) are more likely to say this, while British and Italian adults are slightly less likely to agree with this sentiment (70% and 71% respectively).
Modest majorities in Germany (56%) and in Britain (56%) and a larger majority in Italy (68%) favour the teaching of religion in public schools. However, a higher proportion in the United States (59%) and France (72%) are opposed to this, but less than half (49%) of adults in Spain.
Humphrey Taylor, Chairman of The Harris Poll said: “Given that the Queen is Head of the Church of England, and that Italy and Spain are usually thought of as Catholic countries, this is a remarkable finding.”
French and U.S. adults show a large difference in their attitudes toward the wearing of religious symbols and veils while in school.
While just one in ten French adults believe children should be allowed to wear religious signs or articles of clothing at school, more than three-quarters (77%) of Americans believe that this should be allowed. Among other European adults, Italians (61%) are significantly more likely than British (48%), German (40%) or Spanish (44%) adults to agree that children should be allowed to wear religious signs or articles of clothing.
Slightly more than two in five (43%) of all respondents indicated they were aware that the Dutch government has plans to draw up legislation that will ban the public wearing of all Islamic veils such as burqas, which cover the body and face. British, French and Italians are most likely to believe that the Dutch government should have the right to ban all Islamic veils which cover the body and face in all public places (39%, 39% and 35% respectively). In contrast, Americans are most likely to state that Islamic women should have the right to wear the Islamic veils if they wish to do so (59%).
More than half (58%) of Italians believe that governments should legislate against forms of religious blasphemy, such as depriving something of its sacred character (for example, burning a bible or the Koran). This view was less prevalent in Spain (46%), France (42%), Germany (41%), Great Britain (37%), and the U.S. (31%).
Meanwhile, a BBC Newsround survey of 1,063 children from 7-- 11 revealed that the religious significance of Christmas did not register with many of them. Less than half of children (44%) thought Christmas was about the birth of Jesus. The figures were similar for most of the UK, apart from Northern Ireland, where 71% of children said that Christmas was about the birth of Jesus.
Harris poll December 2006