Lord’s Prayer higher identified than Shakespeare, Dickens, ‘Star Wars’

By Anugrah Kumar, Christian Submit Contributor Sunday, June 08, 2025

Extra folks within the U.Okay. appropriately recognized a line from the Lord’s Prayer than quotes from Shakespeare, Dickens, Churchill or the “Star Wars” franchise, a brand new nationwide ballot exhibits.

The phrase “Give us today our day by day bread” was probably the most widely known amongst seven iconic traces from literature, historical past, music and movie.

Over 80% of respondents appropriately recognized the Lord’s Prayer line, edging out “Might the power be with you” from “Star Wars,” which scored 79.9%, in accordance with the ballot carried out by analysis agency Savanta forward of the Church of England’s annual Thy Kingdom Come prayer initiative.

The survey examined recognition of well-known traces by asking over 2,000 adults throughout the U.Okay. to match quotes to their appropriate sources from a multiple-choice listing.

Different quotations included “To be or to not be” from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, recognized appropriately by 73% of members, and “Glad and wonderful, lengthy to reign over us” from the British nationwide anthem “God Save the King,” which was matched by 63%.

Churchill’s wartime declaration, “By no means within the area of human battle, was a lot owed by so many to so few,” was acknowledged by 61%. “You’ll by no means stroll alone,” a present tune popularized by Liverpool FC followers, was chosen by 58%.

The least acknowledged quote was Dickens’ well-known opening line from A Story of Two Cities, “It was the very best of occasions, it was the worst of occasions,” which solely 39% may appropriately match.

The phrase from the Lord’s Prayer that respondents discovered most significant was “ … and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass towards us.” It resonated with 43% of all members and 56% of these figuring out as Christian.

The survey additionally revealed that 89% of respondents had beforehand heard of the Lord’s Prayer, also referred to as the Our Father. Amongst Christians, this rose to 95%, however even amongst individuals who reported no faith, 88% mentioned they had been conversant in it.

By way of observe, 89% of all respondents mentioned they’d recited or prayed the Lord’s Prayer in some unspecified time in the future, and 58% mentioned they’d accomplished so of their day by day lives.

“These outcomes mirror what we’ve been listening to throughout the North of England by our Religion within the North initiative, which invitations folks to discover the Lord’s Prayer,” commented the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell.

“Although historic, its phrases proceed to resonate with folks of all faiths and none,” he continued. “In a world of shifting cultures and altering circumstances, the Lord’s Prayer stays a gentle information — maybe by no means extra so than now. Traces like ‘Give us today our day by day bread’ communicate powerfully to in the present day’s challenges, reminding us to hunt sufficiency, not extra, and to contemplate what ‘sufficient’ really means.”

The Church of England mentioned the survey outcomes align with the attain of its Each day Prayer podcast and app — launched in the course of the pandemic and providing audio variations of Morning and Night Prayer — which have been downloaded greater than 12 million occasions.

The survey was carried out between Might 23–26, forward of Pentecost.