Category: Factual
& Arts TV
Date: 06.02.2005
Printable version
Britain is a nation of sinners, according to a specially commissioned
MORI survey for 主播大秀 ONE's The Heaven & Earth Show, Sunday 6 February,
10.30am.
Most of us admit to having committed most of the seven deadly sins
at some time or another - many of them in the last month.
The poll asks if the seven deadly sins are still relevant to today's
society, or if there are modern sins which have taken their place.
When asked which is Britain's deadliest sin, most people ignored the
traditional seven deadly sins altogether, with cruelty comfortably topping
the polls (39%), followed by adultery (11%), bigotry (8%) and dishonesty
(7%).
Of the original seven deadly sins, only greed (6%) made it on to the
list.
The Heaven & Earth Show's poll was conducted by MORI between 10 and
13 December, 2004.
A total of 1,001 adults were questioned on their attitudes towards
sin and the relevance of the seven deadly sins to today's society.
Ross Kelly, presenter of The Heaven & Earth Show,
says: "Attitudes towards sin have changed. We're less concerned with
the seven deadly sins and more concerned about actions which hurt others.
"For instance, we're less bothered about anger than we are about
cruelty; and while many of us actually enjoy lust, we still frown on
adultery."
Younger and richer people are more likely to admit to sin than older
and poorer people, the poll suggests.
The percentages of those asked if they'd ever committed one of the
seven deadly sins were higher amongst 16 to 34 year olds and amongst
the more affluent social groups.
The virtuous over-55s polled are less likely to commit sins, or at
least less likely to admit to it!
79% of British adults admit to being angry at some point in their lives,
according to the poll, but that figure rises amongst 16 to 34 year olds
(85%) and amongst the upper middle class / middle class social groups
(87%).
Whilst anger tops the poll in the most committed sins, lust is by far
the sin which respondents most enjoy.
True to the stereotypes, more men cite lust as their favourite sin
(41%) than women (26%), whereas more women than men admit to enjoying
gluttony (20% of women and 15% of men).
11% of single people and 11% of those who are no longer in relationships
chose adultery as the 'eighth deadly sin'.
Yet only 5% of people in stable relationships agreed that adultery
should be added to the list.
The seven deadly sins were originally devised by a sixth century Pope,
Gregory the Great, as the sins he thought to be most at odds with divine
love.
Over the centuries, the church refined his list to the current seven:
anger, gluttony, sloth, envy, pride, lust and greed.
The Heaven & Earth Show (主播大秀 ONE, Sundays, 10.30am) is presented by
Alice Beer and Ross Kelly and regularly
attracts over a million viewers with its lively mix of spirituality,
topical debate and revealing celebrity interviews.
Notes to Editors
MORI interviewed a nationally representative quota sample of 1,001 British
adults, aged 16+, from 10 to 13 December 2004. Quotas were set by age, gender, social class and region.
Interviews were conducted over the telephone using CATI (Computer Assisted
Telephone Interviewing) equipment. Data were weighted to match the known
population profile.
Where figures do not sum to 100 percent, this may be due to computer
rounding or multiple response answers.
Definition of AB social grades: the grades are the standard social class
definitions.
The A social grade is upper middle class: higher managerial, administrative
or professional.
The B social grade is middle class: intermediate managerial, administrative
or professional.
