To wonder if a lot of people who are Christians have had a rather nice life?

Hope you are ok OP.

Not sure about census data showing faith more prevalent in mc/richer areas in the UK. Is there a link? I think it's unlikely to be the case. It's well known census data is flawed in this kind of area in any case - people will often tick the c of e box for eg if they have some kind of nominal cc of e background, and that is possibly more likely in the areas we are talking about. Ticking c of e by no means shows evidence of actual faith - the data is skewed for this purpose.

My Mum was a devout, practising Christian. She was widowed twice, struggled on a pittance to bring me up, she suffered horribly in her last years. She was the best person I've ever known, unselfish, kind, charitable, hardworking, totally honest. She practised her faith in her everyday life, although it was severely tested, it never waivered. If all Christians were like her the world would truly be a better place. I'm an athiest, by the way.

It was the case 100 years ago in places like the factories in Manchester, that the very poorest were less likely to be Christians.

I have lived in a very poor area and the local church was only attended by some elderly white people. My FIL used to live in a posh village, and their church used to be very busy on a Sunday - all white and more a mix of ages. Of course I have no idea how many were there for school places.

I really relate to much of what you have said here, I also ended to explore why I had lost my faith when those I studied with had not and in my case a lot of it was to do with different life experiences. I think it is totally possible for this truth to exist alongside the fact that there are of course many Christian people with complicated, difficult backgrounds.

Theo - Yes that is the case in other countries and in the UK amongst Black and Asian people. What she says does have some truth amongst white people in the UK. The census shows that this is the case.

Nepali not Nelapki In car on phone

What bollocks. You have clearly never lived in Asia. The church is full every Sunday here in Qatar with Nelapki, Indian and Philipinno Christians, mainly very poor migrant workers. What a silly ill informed unworldly statement.

I also think the OP lds getting a hard time. So she might have expressed herself a clumsily for some. So what- get over it.

But it is true that in the UK in white disadvantaged neighbourhoods, people are less likely to be Christians.

You sound terribly naive OP.

I am a Christian and although I might appear to you to be a naice middle class white person I can assure you I have not had an easy life.

I know Christians in Britain who in church would also superficially look like they have had boring middle class lives. However they have struggled (and still struggle) with alcoholism, addiction, mental illness, chronic ill health and poverty. I know Christians who have had abusive childhoods, who have experienced the loss of children, who have grown up in dangerous places, who have witnessed murders in their own families. They just don't talk about these things with you until you know them very well.

You only have to look at someone like Katharine Welby to see that your life isn't automatically sorted if you are born into a churchgoing middle class family.

Perhaps your naice white middle class CU is a reflection of the fact you went to a naice white middle class university - did you ever think about that? Or that people don't spill their life stories to acquaintances?

Ps, my last post relates to those posters further up thread, not those giving a more objective and reasoned response.

I'm surprised by how many people have jumped on the OP to say she was wrong or misguided. She posted an opinion, then lots of mumsnetters posted their opinions and then told the OP she was wrong, with only their anecdotal evidence to back them up.

There is quantative evidence from the last census (as I posted up thread) that in poorer, predominantly white areas, religious belief is lower so that OP wasn't being unreasonable to suppose that in more affluent, white areas there may be a higher number of people who do identify as Christian. That's not go say that this group of people are wrong, or that they haven't struggled, suffered of questioned their faith, I'm sure they all have at times.

I've been quite disappointed with the number of people who have seen it appropriate to post nasty comments.

OP I'd seriously advise against posting anything in AIBU if you're feeling remotely fragile.
I'm not religious but one of the most inspirational people I've met was a Christian woman who gave up a very well paid job to become a chaplain in a prison where she had to work with murderers and sex offenders. She always spoke about everyone with compassion and said that an act could be inexcusable but not unforgivable.
I hope things get better for you soon

I used to envy my committed Christian DSis her life, but given the problems she went through being unhappy at work, the difficulties in buying a family home with her then new DH and then, worst of all, the awful experiences they had to have their children I realised that, in true Pollyanna style, you have to count your blessings. I am not religious btw.

I'm disappointed that so many people have felt the need to jump on the OP. If someone has a misconception why not take the opportunity to open their eyes?

I think the tricky thing about suffering is that it's shit. I think many people are comfortable with the abstract idea that life isn't perfect and tends to involve suffering; if it didn't what would we be like as humans? But the reality of suffering is that it's miserable, ugly and shit. So we can say we don't expect perfect lives, it's just the reality is that the imperfections are less bearable than we'd like them to be.

I personally believe it's important to engage with questions like these. I also think if someone has a certain perception of the church or religion or etc it's better to engage with them and not bite their heads off.

I am the white , middle class , university educated person that the OP is talking about.
I was brought up a catholic and had always had a faith, however, was strengthened when i experienced difficult times. It was my faith that got me through.
I have worked and lived all over the world and have been astounded by the number of people from poverty stricken backgrounds who have such a a strong faith.
So OP, i think that yadbu.

I have been shocked in the past at responses I had to the question as a teenager - Why if there is a God is there so many people who experience terrible things?

I have seen this side of Christianity. I went to bible school and the majority of people there had led very sheltered lives. I had come.to faith as a teenager but my life experiences were so far removed from theirs that I really struggled. In the end I left the church, it was very painful actually but I couldn't match my experience of the world with theirs and found a lot of their responses to people in pain very trite or just totally lacking in compassion.

OP it sounds like you need support at the moment, I hope you have people around you in rl who are kind and loving to you. It also sounds like you have a few regrets about past events or behaviours, please don't think you're alone-not one person on here is perfect, we all have our faults. Some people are exceptionally good at putting on a face, but we all have times when it's bad. I hope you find the comfort you need right now whether that comes from within the church or outside of it. for you.

I live in a deprived area of London and there are about 20 Pentecostal churches in my vicinity where 100% of the congregation are black and , even in C of E and Catholic Churches, the majority of the congregation are black despite the fact that 60% of the local population are white. Nearly all my African friends are Christian, none of my white friends are.
Statistically, religion is more prevalent in poorer countries and where there are low levels of education.
George Carey recently said that he can see Christianity dying out in this country within 2 generations which I presume he meant among white people.
I don't find your thread offensive but I think you're wrong because you're basing it on a very narrow sample.

May I ask what is wrong with being "white, middle-class, privately educated, graduate(s) with a good job"?
What do you find so offensive about being christened, confirmed and married within the Church of England or any other European protestant church, for that matter?