A poll for the Times has found that the Midlands and Wales are the “most spiritual” parts of Britain.
Only 31 per cent of respondents in the two regions said there was no “God or greater spiritual power”. In London and the North, the figure was 44 per cent.
Atheist materialism was also stronger among Remain voters – 45 per cent of whom rejected any spiritual power – than among Leave voters, where the figure was 35 per cent.
The YouGov poll found that only 28 per cent of respondents believe in God, down from 32 per cent in February 2015. A YouGov poll in March found that 46 per cent of Britons self-identify as Christians.
Dr Stephen Bullivant, director of the Benedict XVI Centre for Religion and Society, said the high level of religious belief in the Midlands was probably due to immigration, while lower belief among Remain voters was probably a generational effect.
He said: “Relatively high levels of religious belief in the Midlands are quite likely due to higher proportions of first- or second-generation immigrants, especially in Birmingham and other urban areas – Muslims, of course, but also, say, Christians of Indian extraction.
“The correlation of non-belief with voting for Remain, meanwhile, is likely primarily a generational effect. We know that younger age groups tended to favour Remain. They’re also much more likely to describe themselves as non-religious, or to have little or no religious belief.” Dr Bullivant said the decline in religious belief was down to deaths of older people, who are likelier than the young to believe in God.
Court ruling ‘puts lives of severely disabled at risk’
Severely disabled people who are unable to communicate are at greater risk of death through dehydration because of a court judgment allowing artificial hydration to be withdrawn from a man in a “minimally conscious state”, campaigners have said.
They are concerned that a ruling to end the life of PC Paul Briggs, a Gulf War veteran left severely brain damaged by a motorcycle accident, could set a precedent for legal killings of greater numbers of disabled people.
A joint statement from Alert, the anti-euthanasia pressure group, and Distant Voices, a disability rights group opposed to euthanasia, described the ruling by the Court of Protection in Manchester last month as “bad news”.
Elspeth Chowdharay-Best, honorary treasurer of Alert, said: “PC Paul Briggs, whose only crime was to be disabled, has been condemned to a slow and painful death by being deprived of water.
“There is a danger that this case may set a precedent and lead to many more people becoming victims if they cannot adequately speak for themselves.”
Prince visits £1m Catholic site
Prince Charles has formally opened a diocesan-owned centre in Cardiff created with the help of a £1.2 million lottery grant.
The Cornerstone centre, on the site of a disused listed chapel, aims to be a community hub. It has a café and will host weddings. Prince Charles was welcomed by Archbishop George Stack of Cardiff and shown artefacts representing the diocese’s 100-year history.
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