Individual Religious Practice

This gives an indication of the role that faith is having on the wider community. It explores whether individuals are growing in their faith, moving from spiritual infancy towards maturity through measuring the number of individuals who have undertaken a religious practice in the last seven days, apart from regular or formal religious services.

Collect the following data by conducting individual/household interviews with a representative sample of the target group members: For best practice, a wide variety of respondents should be randomly selected from the wider community and not just church members. 

This indicator was developed as part of the Light Wheel household survey. Questions 72-86 of the survey asks questions around the Living faith area of holisitc wellbeing. 

The household survey can be used to provide a more objective perspective on the situation within a community and, if used in conjunction with a group discussion, can help provide a reference point for the discussion. Using the survey at the start of any engagement with a community will therefore provide a baseline measurement of the indicators; repeating the survey will then provide updates to the indicator status. This can be triangulated alongside direct observation, transect walks and gathering of secondary data. 

It is recommended that this indicator is measured alongside other qualiative outcome indicators found in the Light Wheel under 'Living faith' as well as indicators for the other eight spkes of spokes of the Light Wheel. The Light Wheel was designed specifically to demonstrate the whole-life transformation, by considering each spoke, a holistic view can be taken that brings together physical, social, economic and spiritual well-being the lives of people.

The Living Faith indicators give a wider understanding of: the attitudes towards faith in general within the community, the extent to which Christians are growing in their faith, the extent to which Christians are balancing their inward spiritual development with the external outworking of their faith and how this is influencing the environment in which they are living.

More specifically this indicator can be monitored using the following questions:

1. Have you attended a place of religious worship in the last seven days?

• Yes
• No
• Don't know
• Prefer not to answer

2. Have you exercised a spiritual discipline in the last seven days such as praying, meditating, singing religious songs or reading a spiritual book?

• Yes, daily
• Yes, a few times
• Yes, once
• No
• Prefer not to answer

Gender, age group and location as standard but depending on the context other social identity markers such as faith group, denomination, level of education etc. can also be added.

For more guidance see the Light Wheel