Most Britons believe in God and the U.S.

Press, 2 June 1982, Page 15

Most Britons believe in God and the U.S.

NZPA London Three-quarters of the British public believe in God, but only one Briton in five believes in the Devil. While 53 per cent think there is a Heaven, only one-fifth think there is a Hell. The British see the United States as far and away their most dependable ally, and France as' the least trustworthy. These are some of the findings in "The Gallup Report,” a paperback published by Sphere Books, Ltd, summarising pulse-takings in Britain last year by Gallup, the international pollster. Mrs Margaret Thatcher would go down in history as Britain's worst Prime Minister, said those questioned in October. Two months later, only 25 per cent were satisfied with her performance, the lowest rating of any British leader since World War 11.

Most — 57 per cent — do not think Britain should try to be a world Power, although 16 years ago 55 per cent thought the opposite. The findings by Gallup show the organisation’s 500 British interviewers asking

questions ranging from the existence of Heaven and Hell to attitudes toward the neutron bomb and belief in ghosts. Gallup’s most regular polls are about politics, and 1981 was the year when, the report notes’, Britain’s new centrist Social Democratic Party achieved a growth in support “without parallel.” Some critics say pollsters helped foster the party, giving it credability, because from the party's foundation Gallup’s questions linked it with the two main parties, Conservative and Labour, which have dominated British politics for 60 years. The S.D.P.’s alliance with the small Liberal Party led the polls through most of the last year, and in Gallup’s latest findings this month the Alliance is at 37 per cent, 5.5 points ahead- of the Conservatives, and 7.5 ahead of Labour.

“It is ridiculous to say we fostered the 5.D.P.,” said Mr Norman Webb, British secre-tary-general of Gallup International. “We only mirror what people say.” Mrs Thatcher, whose popularity rallied to 35 per cent in the latest poll, hit the December ebb amid unease over her handling of the economy and rising unemployment, Gallup found. In being dubbed the worst Prime Minister in history last October, when 48 per cent chose her, Mrs Thatcher’s nearest rival'was Neville Chamberlain (12>per cent), who signed the'l93B Munich Agreement with Hitler, declaring "peace in our time,” a year before Germany’s invasion of Poland started World War 11. The wartime leader, Sir Winston Churchill, was top

British Prime Minister, said 71 per cent. British trust in the United States has grown rapidly, with deepening suspicion of the Soviet Union — 69 per cent suspicious compared with 31 per cent in 1963. A poll in March last year showed 62 per cent expressed a “great deal” of trust in the United States, compared with 45 per cent when Gallup last put the question in 1975. France, Britain’s ally in two world wars, rated a “great deal” of trust from only 6 per cent. Britons who would not trust the French at all rose from 24 to 42 per cent, contrasting with 69 per cent who said they would trust West Germany, "up to a point.” In spite of their declining view of Britain’s international status and economic outlook, the British, along with the Irish, claim to be the happiest people in Europe — 38 per cent said they were “very happy,” compared with 19 per cent in France, and only 10 per cent in prosperous Germany.