Young people more often than old people believe in hell and damnation, according to a British study – Human – Science and technology

Generation Z and millennials in Britain are significantly more likely to believe in hell and eternal damnation than people born in the post-World War II baby boom era.

This was reported by The Guardian with reference to the Institute of Politics at King’s College London. According to him, younger people are also more likely than the older generation to think there is an afterlife, although they are generally less religious.

Just under half of Britons say they believe in God, down from 75 per cent in 1981. Only five of the 24 countries surveyed – Norway, South Korea, Japan, Sweden and China – have fewer people than in Britain.

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Belief in heaven among the British public has also fallen, from 57 percent in 1981 to 41 percent last year. However, a similar number of people still believe in hell and the afterlife to a large extent, namely 26 percent and 46 percent, respectively.

When broken down by age, 32 percent of those under 40 said they believed in hell, compared to 18 percent of those aged 59 to 77. There is an afterlife according to 51 to 53 percent of younger generations, compared to only 35 to 39 percent of older people.

“Our cultural attachment to organized religion continues to decline in the UK, but the belief that there is something beyond this life is still strong, even among the youngest generations,” said Bobby Duffy, who heads the Institute for Politics.

The British are among the least religious of all the countries that took part in the survey. The ranking of 24 countries is led by Nigeria, Indonesia, the Philippines, Iran, Greece and Poland. In the UK, one in three people said they were religious, 46 per cent said they were not religious and 21 respondents identified themselves as atheist – up from four per cent in 1981.

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“Adults under the age of 40 are much more likely than older people to identify as atheists, but at the same time claim to believe in hell, which is a fascinating mystery,” said David Voas of UCL University of London. Britain is among the most tolerant countries surveyed. As many as 82 percent of people said they trust people of a different religion. Only Sweden achieved a higher score in tolerance. 12 percent of Britons agreed with the statement “the only acceptable religion is my religion,” compared to 90 percent of Moroccans.

The findings are part of the World Values ​​Study, one of the largest academic social surveys in the world. It has been held for more than 40 years.