40% of adults pray, says survey

Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7089139.stm

People feel prayer changes their lives, with some 42% of UK residents saying they pray, research suggests.

People feel prayer changes their lives, with some 42% of UK residents saying they pray, research suggests.

Christian development agency Tearfund surveyed 1,000 adults of all religions and found one in six prayed daily, and one in four at least once a week.

After praying, 38% reported feeling "peaceful and content", 30% were strengthened and 57% said it changed what happened in their lives.

Even people with no religion reported praying, with 12% praying sometimes.

Praying made 30% of people feel strengthened, 22% said they felt close to God, 21% said they felt reassured and safe and 19% said they felt happy and joyful.

'Prayers answered'

A total of 57% of those who pray said they believed that prayer changed what happened in their life.

One in three adults agreed with the statement "There is a God who watches over me and answers my prayer", according to the survey.

The survey was conducted by TNS for Tearfund to draw attention to its global poverty prayer week. The random sample of over-16s were interviewed face-to-face between February and March 2007.

Matthew Frost, Tearfund chief executive, said: "This report means a great deal to us in our work to help to eradicate poverty through local churches by demonstrating the prevalence and potential of prayer."

Top prayer topics in order of popularity were family and friends, thanking God, guidance, healing and worldwide problems such as poverty, wars and disaster.

Young people were less likely than their elders to pray, with just over a quarter - 27% - of 16 to 24-year-olds admitting ever praying.

The proportion of those praying rose steadily as people got older, reaching 51% of those aged 55 to 74 and a peak of 61% of over 75-year-olds.

According to other surveys cited by Tearfund, around 60% of people across Europe say they pray, with the figure for the US even higher.
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40% of adults pray, says survey

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40% of adults pray, says survey

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