Majority views religion as force for good

Most people believe that religion is a force for good and should play an important part in national life, according to research published today at the launch of a counter-attack against secularism.

The survey by Theos, a newly-formed religious think tank backed by the leaders of the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches, also found young people were less hostile to faith than their elders.

Launching its initiative, which will refuel an already inflammatory debate over the role of Christianity and the State, Theos attacked "public atheism" and called for a "fight-back" for faith.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the head of Catholics in England and Wales, said that religion had rarely been so significant or so misunderstood.

They argued that those who campaigned for the removal of religion from national life were themselves guilty of an "intolerant faith position".

In a joint foreword to a Theos report entitled Doing God: a Future for Faith in the Public Square, they said that religiously-inspired activity in the public arena could be "radically inclusive".

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