Orthodox believers and Catholics fast most during Lent

Fifty seven per cent of Anglicans abstain too according to a survey

Nearly 80 per cent of practising Catholics fast from food and drink for Lent, a survey has found.

Seventy-nine per cent of Catholics questioned by the charity Green Christian said they fasted during the 40-day season.

Only Orthodox believers fast more than Catholics: 85 percent said they gave up food or drink in Lent, compared to 57 per cent of Anglicans.

Less than 30 per cent of Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists and church-goers in independent churches fast during Lent, according to the poll.

However, 94 per cent of Christians in Black-Majority Churches fast from food outside Lent for short periods, such as 24 hours. The figure was 83 per cent for Pentecostal Christians, and 76 per cent for worshippers at “new” protestant Churches.

Christians who fast in Lent are also more likely to be younger and female said the poll: 61 per cent of 18-44 year olds fast, compared to 43 per cent of those aged 45 or older. Fifty-five per cent of female Church-goers fast, as do 46 per cent of men.

Green Christian also found that a fifth of all Churchgoers (22 per cent) abstain from meat on Fridays all year round. The figure was highest among Orthodox Christians. Eighty-five per cent abstain compared to 53 per cent of Catholics, and 18 per cent of Anglicans.

Fewer than five per cent of Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists or members of new Churches do so. Six hundred and five Christians who attend Church at least once a month answered the survey for Green Christian, a charity founded in 1981 to supply insights on the environment to Christians and Churches.

Tim Cooper, Emeritus Professor of Sustainable Design and Consumption at Nottingham Trent University, who led the research, described fasting as “a form of counterculturalism.”

He said: “Fasting is a means by which many Christians integrate the spiritual and material dimensions of life. While for some it may be partly motivated by a desire for improved health, other motives may be a concern about over-consumption, in its many forms, or a desire to exercise personal discipline in a society seen by many as unduly liberal.”

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