Nairobians ‘abandon’ church this Easter
Nairobians are abandoning church for more ‘earthly’ things this Easter if a recent opinion poll released Friday is anything to go by.
According to the poll by Infotrak Research and Consulting which sought to know what plans Kenyans have for Easter, Nairobians expressed the least intention of attending church/prayer during this Holy week.
The poll also established that a majority of Nairobians have no plans for Easter.
Whilst only 18 per cent of those living in the city indicated that they would be praying and going to church, 31 per cent stated that they had no plans.
North Eastern and Coast respondents had a majority of those having no Easter plans but interestingly recorded a significant response of attending prayers.
This is in comparison to the national average of 34 per cent who plan to commemorate Easter by attending church. Another 10 per cent would celebrate Easter by visiting a friend/relative.
PLANS TO TRAVEL
Another 27.3 per cent of Kenyans have no plan for the Easter, while 9 per cent indicated they will continue with their daily work/business. Only 5 per cent of Kenyans plan to travel for the holiday.
The research carried between March 20 and 22 revealed that nearly half of those in Western and Eastern regions intend to spend their Easter in church and in prayer.
Another 15 per cent of those polled in North Eastern, a region that is predominantly Islamic claimed that they intend to spend Easter in prayer either in a church or a mosque.
The opinion poll in which 1,800 respondents were interviewed also showed that more women intend to spend Easter in Church and in prayer in comparison to men.
“Thirty eight per cent of women intend to spend their time in church compared to 29 per cent of men who intend to spend their time in prayer and in church,” the research said.
ATTEND CHURCH
The poll also showed that more rural than urban folk will be spending Easter in prayer and church with 40 per cent of those living in rural areas indicating so compared 26 per cent of the urbanites.
“It is mainly the aged (45years and above) who plan to attend church/prayers during the Easter festivities,” the report noted.
Overall, the highest percentage of the respondents countrywide said they would attend church or prayers with having no plans becoming the second most popular response.
Christians celebrate Easter festivals every year to commemorate the crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Christians look back on these events to renew their commitment to live a holy life; the one Jesus challenged them to live.
This year’s Easter festivities will be celebrated from Friday March 25 to Monday 28.
