42% of Britons pray, survey finds

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Research into the views of 1,000 adults in the UK has shown 42% said they pray to God with about one in six praying every day and one in four praying at least once a week.

After praying, 38% reported feeling "peaceful and content", 30% said they were strengthened, 22% said they felt close to God, 21% said they felt reassured and safe and 19% said they felt happy and joyful.

A total of 57% of those who pray said they believed that prayer changed what happened in their life and 32% said they had seen the effect of prayer on their lives.

One in three adults agreed with the statement "There is a God who watches over me and answers my prayer", according to the survey, commissioned by Tearfund, the Christian relief and development agency.

Prayer was so popular that even those with no religion were participating - with one in eight, or 12%, of this group praying sometimes.

Top prayer topics in order of popularity were family and friends, thanking God, guidance, healing and worldwide problems such as poverty, wars and disaster.

The proportion of people who prayed varied throughout the country, with London coming up as the "prayer capital of the UK" with nearly three-quarters (73%) saying they prayed.

Yorkshire and Humberside came bottom of the prayer league table with only 24% of the people questioned from this region saying that they pray.

Young people were less likely than their elders to pray, with just over a quarter - 27% - of 16 to 24-year-olds admitting ever praying. The proportion of those praying rose steadily as people got older, reaching 51% of those aged 55 to 74 years old and a peak of 61% of over 75-year-olds.