1 in 5 UK Nonbelievers Prays to God in Times of Crisis

A new survey on the prayer habits of adults in the U.K. has found that just over half turn to prayer, including one in five of those who describe themselves as non-religious, particularly at a time of crisis.

The survey, released on Sunday, was carried out by ComRes on behalf of the Christian aid agency Tearfund, found that 51 percent of adults pray.

Only around one in five, or 20 percent, however, said that they pray regularly, which was defined as at least once a month.

The poll was carried out by interviewing 2,069 U.K. adults online between Dec. 1–3, 2017, and the responses were divided in two major categories: from those who identify as Christians, and from all the respondents in general.

Of those who say they are nonreligious, 55 percent said they pray in times of personal crisis or tragedy. Thirty-four percent of nonbelievers said they pray "on the off chance that something could change," and 23 percent said they do so to gain comfort or to make them feel less lonely.

Those who identified as Christians were also most likely to pray in times of tragedy, at 57 percent; though 45 percent of believers also said they do so specifically because they believe in God. Another 38 percent said they pray because they believe it really makes a difference.

Read more about prayer on The Christian Post.