BRITAIN:The failed London and Glasgow car bombings have contributed to giving religion a bad name, according to an opinion poll released yesterday.
They have especially damaged the image of Islam, according to 71 per cent of those polled, but a majority - 54 per cent - also thought they had damaged the reputation of religion in general.
Theos, a public theology think tank, questioned 1,001 people for the survey. Young people were the most likely to think of Islam as a violent religion, with 28 per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds believing it is fundamentally a religion of war.
The same belief was held by 17 per cent of the population overall and only 13 per cent of over-65s. Fewer than half (48 per cent) of 18- to 24-year-olds saw it as a religion of peace, compared with 60 per cent or over for every other age group.
Despite the Glasgow airport attack, Scots were the most positive towards Islam, with only 7 per cent regarding it as warlike. Overall, while 17 per cent of people said recent events had damaged their opinion of the role of religion in Britain, 45 per cent said they were unchanged in their belief that it is a force for good.
The 60 per cent view of Islam as a peaceful religion reflected the view that it was fanatics who had interpreted it in a violent way, said director of Theos, Paul Woolley.
"The swift condemnation of the attacks and the active stance taken by Muslim leaders against extremism has clearly helped to build confidence and national solidarity," he said.