British Social Attitudes | findings

Over 25 years of British Social Attitudes

A couple of years ago we celebrated 25 years of our flagship study, British Social Attitudes. Now in its 28th year, the survey has been conducted virtually every year since 1983, measuring how people's social, political and moral attitudes change over time. Some questions are repeated each year, and new questions are also added that reflect current areas of interest. The findings are used by Government, universities, charities and the media to inform policy and insight.

Have our attitudes changed?

Put simply, yes. Here's a snapshot of the findings below. To learn more (we have a huge amount of insight) please contact Alison Park.

Religious faith

• There has been a sharp decline in religious faith over the last two decades. For the first time in the history of the series more people say they are not religious than say they are. In 2009 51% of respondents said they did not belong to any religion, up from a third (34%) in 1983.

• These changes reflect deep-rooted differences between the generations, with older generations (who are the most religious) dying out and being replaced by younger (less religious) ones.

Social and moral attitudes

• Some of the biggest changes we have seen related to sex and sexuality. In 1983, three in ten (28%) thought sex before marriage was 'always' or 'mostly' wrong, falling to around one in ten (11%) in 2007.
• In 1983, six in ten (62%) thought sexual relations between adults of the same sex were wrong, compared to under four in ten (36%) in 2007.
• Our views on abortion have also changed. In 1983, under four in ten (37%) agreed that a woman who decides herself that she does not want a child should be allowed to have an abortion; in 2007 six in ten (60%) take this view.

Views on government policy

• Attitudes to policy priorities have changed over the last 25 years or so. But education and health continue to top the list when people are asked to choose an area they think should get more government spending- in 2009, just over a quarter (27%) chose education as their first priority for more spending, while 43% chose health.

• Over the past decade, there has been a massive increase in public spending on the NHS, along with increases in staffing and reduced waiting times. This is reflected in changing public attitudes to the NHS. Two in three people (64%) are 'very satisfied' or 'quite satisfied' with the NHS in 2009, up 30 percentage points since 1997 (when 34% were satisfied) and 22 points since 2000 (when 42% were satisfied). The NHS seems to be its own best advocate: having personal experience of the NHS is associated with higher rates of satisfaction. It is people who have not had recent contact who express the lowest levels of satisfaction with various services.

• Our feelings about welfare recipients are very different now to the 1980s. The possible causes? Until recently, unemployment was less of an issue over the last two decades, and people tend to be less sympathetic on these issues during times of low unemployment. But this is not the whole story. The public also seem to have shifted their views in line with the changing messages sent out by different political parties about welfare support from the state.

Understanding people's attitudes

• In 1983, Britain still had a significant manufacturing sector and a working-class who believed strongly in traditional 'left-wing' policies. Now, while a significant number of people still define themselves in terms of class, it's less useful as a predictor of beliefs or political affiliations.

• Considerable generation gaps exist on many issues. In many cases, younger groups are more liberal and tolerant than older ones. For example, in 2008 a quarter (25%) of people aged 65 and over agreed with traditional gender role assertions such as 'a man's job is to work while a woman's job is to look after the home and family' (although 47% disagreed). Among 25-34 year olds, just 10% agreed (and 69% disagreed).

• Education also matters. Graduates are more liberal than other groups about issues such as homosexuality and pre-marital sex, and are also more politically interested and engaged. For example, just under a half (45%) of graduates in 2009 said they have a great deal or quite a lot of interest in politics compared to a quarter (27%) of non-graduates.

We're looking forward to following people's attitudes over the next 25 years. We hope you find the findings as fascinating as we do.

To view some more of our recent findings you can read the results of our 28th report or see the findings for the 27th report.