The Archbishop of Canterbury must hear this: Britain is
most godless nation on earth! Tell it at Anglican Church. Say it at Buckingham Palace. This is not “A Revisionist History of Britain” by Philip Roth. Nor is it a posthumous work entitled “The Ghost of Anne Boleyn” written by King Henry VIII and published by Hades press. But it is naked truth. (As if truth wears pants.)
This may appear surprising to many. Just as it is easy—very simple—to flunk exams in these days of stranger than fiction occurrences. Who ever thought that Berlin Wall would tumble, for instance? Or that U.S.S.R. would be “Balkanized” and communism would be no more. (I hope Castro is not reading this.) Or did you ever think that Saddam’s deadly nukes would “disappear” under watchful eyes of Bush and Blair? I can’t even keep up with pace of change in this world.
Now test your knowledge with these questions. Is it possible to find tropical birds in polar regions? Or can a young boy Auckland, New Zealand be madly in love with a girl who he has not seen in Amsterdam, Netherlands?
Of course, if you answer no to above questions, it goes to say that you do not know a single thing. And I do not feel sorry for you because I am most to be pitied.
Now take some lecture. You are wrong because eagles are about now diving into waters of Arctic Ocean and coming out with big fishes on their beaks. (No thanks to global warming.) And love-stuck boy in Auckland could “feel” long hair of his girl friend and look into her blues eyes in far away Amsterdam. (Thanks to Internet and web cam.)
But wait a moment. How did glorious Britain come to earn inglorious epithet: most godless nation on earth?
Not that title is anything new. For example, there is most violent nation, most corrupt nation, and many more. In fact, it appears that there is a sobriquet for every country on earth. Indeed Britain has two titles, having previously been named Dirty Old Man of Europe, owing to high rate of industrial pollution in that country. Commenting on pollution of River Mersey, Liverpool Daily Post reported that “anyone unlucky enough to fall into river is likely to be taken sick to hospital.” But why is Britain said to be godless?
This was result of a poll of 10,000 people in ten countries. In that poll conducted by The Times of London, Britain was found to be “among most godless…, with lowest levels of religious belief and activities.” How did Great Britain, country of John Wycliffe, Morning Star of reformation, come to be this way? Consider poll closely.
Forty-six percent of Britons said that they had always believed in God while only two countries, Russia and Republic of South Korea had fewer believers. While more that 90 percent of people in Nigeria, Indonesia, and Lebanon believed that their god was one true God, only 3 out of 10 in Britain felt equally. In majority if countries more that 80 percent said that belief in God makes one a better person, but just 56 percent of Britons subscribed to that. Inasmuch as 85 percent in Unites States, 99 percent in Indonesia and 83 percent in Mexico believed God created universe, but figure was as low as 52 percent in Britain. When asked whether world would be more peaceful without religion, 6 percent in United States, 9 percent in India, and 11 percent in Israel said yes, but in Britain, it was as high as 29 percent!
