Date added: 09/08/18
The majority of Christians are still planning to vote for Britain to stay within the European Union. In a survey launched by Christian Research on 9th June, 54% said they intend to vote against Brexit on 23rd June, with 28% saying they intended to vote in favour. This is a slight increase compared to the results of a survey Christian Research conducted earlier in the year, where 50% said they were intending to vote to remain within the EU, and 30% intending to vote against.
When asked if they had encountered former Archbishop Rowan Williams' recent open letter on the referendum, nearly 50% of the respondents had not heard of it. However, out of the 19% who knew of it, 48% said they agreed with the sentiment within it – that leaving the European Union would be a threat to peace across the continent.
Participants were also asked for their views on the recent strike action undertaken by NHS junior doctors. 55% said they felt the strike to be justified, while 28% disagreed. When asked whether workers in essential services on the whole such as firemen, paramedics and doctors should be allowed to strike, there was an equal split between those who felt they should and those who felt they shouldn't.
The vast majority of the respondents also said their experiences of the NHS had been either 'very positive' or 'mostly positive,' at 38% and 53% respectively. However, the majority also said they had used private healthcare before: 35% said they had done so 'occasionally,' while 65% said they did so 'most of the time.' 34% said they would 'never consider' using private healthcare.
The government's attempts to introduce the Investigatory Powers Bill, legislation which would allow MI5, MI6 and GCHQ to retain people's text messages, emails and messages on social media in bulk form, was seen as a 'negative development' by most of the respondents. 45% held this view, while 33% saw it as a positive move.
Respondents were also divided almost evenly on the degree to which security concerns should be seen as more important than civil liberties: 46% said they felt security should take priority over individual freedoms, but with strong checks and balances, while 41% said this should only be allowed to happen in 'exceptional circumstances.' 31% also said they saw the actions of whistle-blowers like Edward Snowden to be justified as an essential public service. However, a majority of 56% felt such actions could be justified, but only in 'special circumstances.'
Research conducted with The Resonate panel in Junel 2016: 1200 respondents
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