One in three feel their lives 'lack purpose'

One in three UK adults feel that their lives lack purpose.

This finding comes from a survey commissioned by evangelism organisation A Passion for Life (APFL) in which more than 2,000 adults (a representative group) were asked to reflect on what they felt was missing from their lives, from a “long” list of options.

Purpose, freedom and security topped the list for both men and women; followed by love, meaning, hope, truth, community, acceptance, and peace, which all hovered at around the 17-20% mark.

Of those surveyed, 3% said that they felt God was missing from their lives, a statistic described by APFL’s Communications and Operations Lead, Alex Hillman, as “striking.” Hillman told en: “Yet the very things people most desire – purpose, freedom, security – are precisely things that Christians believe can only be found in knowing God.

“It highlights a challenge for our evangelism to connect people’s perceived existential needs to their ultimate need to be reconciled to God through the work of Christ.”

“Age made a difference,” Hillman continued. Young adults (18–24) were the most likely to say something was missing, with freedom – as that “something missing” – ranking the highest. “The trend is for dissatisfaction to decrease with age,” Hillman said.

Meanwhile, the survey also revealed that one in five participants were interested in knowing more about Jesus, with a similar number expressing interest in knowing more about the Bible; higher levels of interest were displayed among younger adults, at over 35%. Half of those surveyed said they knew a practising Christian personally, with one in five stating that they would attend a church service if invited by a friend or colleague.