Society

Majority Oppose To Make Christianity A State Religion In New Zealand

A recent poll shows that 58% of New Zealanders disagree with the idea of making Christianity an official state religion in the country with the strongest opposition to the idea coming from men and the youth.

A recent poll shows that 58% of New Zealanders disagree with the idea of making Christianity an official state religion in the country with the strongest opposition to the idea coming from men and the youth.

Research New Zealand, the organization which carried out the survey on 500 people across the country, showed that more than 70% in the 15 to 29 years age group “vehemently” opposed the concept of adopting Christianity as the state’s official religion, reported the New Zealand Herald.

Further, 63% of men opposed the idea compared to 54% of women. Emanuel Kalafatelis, the director from Research New Zealand, said that only 35 percent of the participant agrees with the idea of New Zealand adopting Christianity as the country’s official religion.

Although a majority of people oppose the idea of making the country adopt Christianity as its official religion, the 2006 New Zealand census does show an overwhelming support for Christianity with more than half of the nation population indicating it as their religious affiliation.

"In the 2006 census more than two million New Zealanders, or 55.6 per cent of those who answered the Census question about religious affiliation, said they were affiliated with a Christian religion," Mr Kalafatelis said to the NZPA.

The survey was sparked by the recent debate in New Zealand, where the federal government led by Prime Minister Helen Clark suggested that the nation has no official religion. The comment drew anger from Christians who led a protest outside an international conference on religious tolerance at Waitangi.

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