What makes a 'good' Christian? Kindness, according to new poll

<em>A new poll by YouGov and Yahoo UK found that kindness is the most important trait when it comes to being a ‘good’ Christian (Picture: Getty)</em>
A new poll by YouGov and Yahoo UK found that kindness is the most important trait when it comes to being a ‘good’ Christian (Picture: Getty)

Kindness is the most important trait when it comes to being a ‘good’ Christian, a new poll has revealed.

The poll by YouGov and Yahoo UK asked around 2,000 people which trait they think is most important for someone to show in order to be deemed a ‘good’ Christian.

The most popular answer was kindness, with just over a third of people (35%) picking it as the most important quality for a Christian – though considerably more women said kindness than men (42% vs 27%).

The poll is discussed in the latest episode of Yahoo UK’s podcast Britain Is a Nation Of…, which this week looks at religion.

Listen to a discussion of these statistics on Yahoo and YouGov’s podcast, Britain is a Nation of…

According to the poll, love is the second most selected choice for the most important trait in a ‘good’ Christian, with 14% of the vote choosing it as their number one characteristic.

That was followed by goodness at 11%, then faithfulness with 6% of the vote.

Less popular were joy, peace, patience, gentleness and self control – each with 5% or less of the vote.

Speaking on the podcast, Church of England priest and Gogglebox star Kate Bottley said the very idea of a ‘good’ Christian is something she has an issue with.

“The idea that you can be a good Christian is a crazy notion to me because I’m a terrible Christian,” she said.

“The basic point for me of Christianity is that I am an absolute failure and all Christians are. We mess it up continually, we get it wrong, we’re hypocritical. We fudge it up on a second-by-second basis, we are not perfect people.”

<em>Love got the second highest vote as the most important trait in a ‘good’ Christian, the poll found (Picture: Getty)</em>
Love got the second highest vote as the most important trait in a ‘good’ Christian, the poll found (Picture: Getty)

Describing how someone had once told her they find church difficult because it is ‘full of hypocrites’, she added: “Yep, that’s why we’re there. I’m not there because I think I’m a good person, I’m there because I think I’m a terrible person.

“It’s not an awards ceremony, going to church, it’s a hospital for the broken, that’s what it’s about. It’s about going there and going, ‘oh my word, I can’t get this life right and I’m trying really hard’.

“So it’s interesting to me that we continually frame the idea about being a ‘good’ Christian about being a ‘good’ person and doing kind things and being nice.

“The last thing I’m very good at is being nice. I know I wear a dog collar for a living but I am an absolute failure, as are we all. We’re all messed up.”

This survey was made possible by YouGov’s panel of 6 million respondents. Join the trend and share your opinions with the world today.