10 per cent have never attended a
place of worship.
What is striking in these results is the
low figure (20 per cent) who consider
attending a place of worship part of
their understanding of spirituality;
and although 42 per cent identified
themselves as Christian, just over
half this group currently attended a
church. Maybe not surprising given
the nature of this event, people
showed an understanding of what
spirituality was for them but this was
in many cases detached from actively
belonging to a religious group.
Indeed, asked what if anything
would tempt you back to a place
of worship, 70 per cent did not
reply and a further six per cent said
‘nothing’. So it is clear that this is a
group very interested in spirituality
but many of them are unlikely to
return to organised religion.
However, when asked what they
would like to see happen in
Manchester there were several
requests for interfaith work and many
requested workshops and seminars
of various kinds, some about specific
spiritual techniques like meditation.
The main concern was for an
opportunity for people to meet and
discuss spirituality. So there is still
a desire for some sense of spiritual
community but for most of them
it is not organised religion.
