The Pew Research Centre also found they were the group most likely to view the Bible as the word of God.

More than half of black people – both Christian and non-Christian – said they read the Bible or other holy scripture at least once a week outside of church services, compared with 32 per cent of whites and 38 per cent of Hispanics, according to data from the Religious Landscape Study.

Only 24 per cent of black people said they “seldom or never” read the Bible, compared with 50 per cent of whites and 40 per cent of Hispanics.

David Masci, a senior writer at Pew Research Center, explained where the root of black people’s devotion to the Bible may have come from.

“Religion, particularly Christianity, has played an outsize role in African American history. While most Africans brought to the New World to be slaves were not Christians when they arrived, many of them and their descendants embraced Christianity, finding comfort in the Biblical message of spiritual equality and deliverance,” he wrote in an article.

The study also found African Americans participate in prayer and scripture study groups more than both whites and Hispanics.

While 39 per cent of black people asked said they did on a weekly basis, 22 per cent of white people and 27 per cent of Hispanic people said they did.

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The book, Quaker faith and practice, provides spiritual wisdom, guidance, and advice for the Quaker Church.

The Church made the decision to edit the book at its annual gathering on Sunday.

Paul Parker, recording clerk for Quakers in Britain said: “Once in a generation, Quakers decide to take a long hard look at our faith, what it means to us, and what we can say about it.

“Today’s bold decision to revise Quaker faith and practice means it’s time for us to do that again. It’s exciting. We want to hear the insights of younger and more diverse people, and set out how we are a faith fit for the 21st century. I’m looking forward to it.”

Quakers in Britain said some of the children and young people taking part in the gathering pushed for recognition of diversity.

The last revision took around ten years to complete.

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Speaking at the association’s centenary conference, Paul Smith, headmaster of Hereford Cathedral School, will highlight the risks he believes are faced by schools that educate the UK’s cathedral and collegiate choristers.

Mr Smith will say: “I wish I could add that today proper forethought, planning and insight would never allow a repeat of such concerns amongst our membership, and that the values and principles upon which our schools are based are much better understood and appreciated by legislators and politicians.

“I wish I could say that, but I suspect that the risks to our CSA schools today, are as great, if not greater, than they were in 1918.”

One of the concerns he will raise is about the Government’s attitude towards independent schools, which include the majority of choir schools.

In his address at the conference in St Paul’s Cathedral, Mr Smith is expected to say: “For those of us in the independent sector, there can be little doubt that we have few friends at the moment.

“Politicians, of all shades, seem hell bent on issuing ill-informed edicts, based upon lazy stereotypes, which purportedly seek to ensure the independent sector does its bit to justify charitable status.

“The independent sector is an embarrassment to governments, because their schools have the audacity to invest and nurture in a broad holistic education, not a narrow results driven…

The Material Girl performed her classic hit alongside a cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah inside the Great Hall at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, according to Vogue Magazine.

The theme of the night was Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination and earlier in the evening Madonna appeared on the red carpet in a black Jean Paul Gaultier gown paired with a black net veil covering her face.

According to Vogue, following the Met Gala dinner Madonna underwent a dramatic wardrobe change and reappeared wearing a flowing white gown.

The singer shared a picture of the performance on Instagram.

 

As well as the picture, she shared a short clip of the performance.

Rihanna also stole the show at the Met Gala, turning heads by channelling the Pope for her red carpet outfit.

The Umbrella singer made the most of the dress code, wearing a diamond-encrusted papal-inspired outfit complete with a mitre-style hat.

 

Rihanna was joined on the red carpet by her co-chair for the evening, Amal Clooney, who arrived with her husband, George.

Amal, a human rights lawyer, wore a rose-patterned skirt and trousers designed by British designer Richard Quinn.

Kim Kardashian-West attended the event, in New York City, alone, as her rapper husband Kanye West was nowhere to be seen. She wore a figure-hugging gold dress by Versace. In a nod to…