While IS has had unprecedented recruiting success across the world and particularly across the western world, some countries have been easier than others. The latest estimates suggest France is easily the most significant European nation for them. The report, coming out of France’s domestic intelligence services, estimates that 1,430 French fighters are fighting for IS in Iraq and Syria, nearly half of the 3,000 Europeans they have overall. Such estimates are always a bit problematic on exact numbers, as international spy agencies have limited insight into the overall operations of IS, however, they reflect trends pretty successfully. French officials say that of the 1,430 fighters some 200 are believed to have returned to France and many are believed to be active in recruiting others or planning attacks domestically. (Pr.11:14)

A new survey of voters who identify as Christian has revealed some of the issues most likely to influence their votes in the General Election. The poll found that 90 per cent of Christians believe a party’s ‘commitment to protecting freedom of conscience’ is important. It also revealed that 81 per cent of Christians think that Britain ‘seems to be going in the wrong direction morally’. More than 60 per cent of respondents agreed that it is ‘harder to be a Christian in Britain today’ than it was in 2010 at the last General Election. More than a third agreed with the statement: ‘I would have considered voting Conservative but gay marriage has put me off doing so’. And almost 80 per cent thought that David Cameron was wrong to say that gay marriage was ‘among his proudest achievements in 2014’. 40 per cent said a party leader having a ‘personal Christian faith’ would influence their vote, rising to nearly 50 per cent when applied to their local candidate.

Churches are still viewed as a ‘soft touch’ by paedophiles hunting for victims, despite tighter child-protection measures after a series of abuse scandals, one of Britain’s leading experts on the issue has warned. Justin Humphreys, the head of safeguarding at the Churches’ Child Protection Advisory Service (CCPAS) said convicted paedophiles often seek out places of worship on their release because of members’ belief in forgiveness. Although churches now routinely carry out criminal-record checks for volunteer positions such as Sunday school teachers, Mr Humphreys said they are ‘undoubtedly’ still missing out on large numbers of people who pose a threat to children, but have never previously been caught. Churches of all denominations are still guilty of ‘naivety’ on the issue of sexual abuse despite the revelations, he added. A recent random survey by the CCPAS found no examples of churches carrying out the level of full scrutiny in application processes that it recommends.

In a blog post entitled Mission Agencies 2050, the former executive director of Wycliffe UK, Eddie Arthur, compared declining church attendance in the UK since 1970 with the sharp rise in the number of mission agencies coming into existence during the same period. There are more and more agencies seeking support from a shrinking constituency. This is not sustainable even in the short to mid-term, much less by 2050.’ He added: ‘It isn't rocket science to suggest that the number of mission agencies based in the UK will decline drastically over the next 35 years.’ Most agencies will go by 2050. The demographics are against us. ‘Arthur suggested that too many agencies were trying to do the same sort of thing, that they should refocus on supporting indigenous Christians and that they should prepare for radical change. ‘The hardest thing in the Christian world is to stop doing something,’ he said.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, described Islamic State (IS) as ‘deeply evil’, after news broke on Sunday that 30 Christians had been killed by the jihadist group in Libya. The Archbishop travelled to Egypt on Saturday to meet with religious and political leaders in the country, and express his condolences for the murder of 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya in February. While he was there IS released another of its propaganda videos, purporting to show around 15 Ethiopians being beheaded, and another group of the same size being fatally shot in the head. In the video the victims are referred to as ‘worshippers of the cross belonging to the hostile Ethiopian church’. Country authorities have said that they were likely to have been migrants travelling through Libya in the hope of reaching Europe.

The Methodist Council has pledged to tackle issues of bullying and harassment within the Church. The move is a response to concerns raised about the vulnerability of churches to destructive patterns of behaviour and affirms the desire for the Church to be a safe and inclusive community for all. ‘It is uncomfortable and difficult to admit that bullying and harassment do sometimes occur in our churches,’ said Tony Tidey, Connexional Wellbeing Adviser. ‘But the decision made today, and the recommendations that will be made to the Conference in July, are something to be proud of. By clearly stating our commitment to addressing this issue, we are calling everyone in our churches to a standard of behaviour that should reflect our calling as Christians to treat one another with dignity and respect at all times.’ Council members affirmed that bullying and harassment were always unacceptable and that dealing well with these issues in a church context is vitally important. See also the statement from 'The Mill Gathering'in last week's Prayer Alert. 

The UK is among the least religious countries in the world, according to a new survey. In a global ranking of 65 countries, the UK came six places from last, with 30% of the population calling themselves religious. While 53% of people said they were not religious, only 13% said they were a convinced atheist and the remainder did not know how to define themselves. This compares with 94% of people in Thailand and 93% of people in Armenia, Bangladesh, Georgia and Morocco who said they were religious. Jean-Marc Leger, president of Win/Gallup International, said that globally an average of two-thirds of people still consider themselves religious. ‘Religion continues to dominate our everyday lives,’ he said. ‘Furthermore, with the trend of an increasingly religious youth globally, we can assume that the number of people who consider themselves religious will only continue to increase.’

Anti-Muslim sentiment is widely considered to have increased in the UK, particularly with the rise of IS and following the January Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris. Race and religious hate crime have increased by more than a quarter in the past year, a new report from London's police force has found. Statistics released by the Metropolitan Police Service compare offences reported between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2015 with those reported in the previous financial year. They reveal that these crimes, have risen by 25.7 per cent in the capital. The Met has attributed this rise to an increase in awareness of and willingness to report hate crime, as well as the support of more than 500 specialist investigators

Christian values can still turn the world upside down and transform people's lives from within, according to the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu. ‘Young people know in their bones that there must be something better, something more worthwhile than the self-centredness which is attracted by the promise of endless pleasure but which somehow never seems to deliver,’ he says in the The Yorkshire Post. It is not simply about numbers: It is renewal and revival, both at a personal and a corporate level, that are necessary today, he added, warning against the temptation to slide into ‘compromise and apathy’. Christians today must do a regular ‘spiritual workout’, with 'honest self-examination’ conducted in the searchlight of Christ's all-seeing, ever-gracious love. ‘In the eyes of most young people, the status quo has been tried and found wanting. Something far more worthwhile and exciting is needed.’

Teenage years could never be described as an easy ride emotionally, but according to new research, it would seem that, for girls at least, early adolescence is getting increasingly difficult. According to new research emotional problems are increasing, with a 55 per cent rise between 2009 and 2014. This is compared to other mental health and behavioural difficulties, which didn’t see a significant change. It has been suggested that increasing pressure on girls to perform academically, coupled with anxiety over body image ‘amplified by social media’, could be reasons behind the rise. The research, conducted by University College London and the Anna Freud Centre, compared the mental health of 1,683 11 to 13-year-old boys and girls in 2009 with the same number of pupils in 2014. Dr Elian Fink, lead author of the report, warned that ‘more effective interventions’ were needed in order to address the issue, including increasing provision of mental health services for young people