Figures obtained from several of England’s main Christian denominations suggest that the numbers of worshippers in the pews each Sunday are either stable or increasing. The data run counter to the widely-held views that the country is becoming more secular, while the remaining “fuzzy faithful” are developing individual spiritual beliefs without joining traditional religious congregations.
It comes just days before Pope Benedict XVI arrives for the first-ever state papal visit to Britain, amid fears that he will be greeted by the sight of protests and half-empty arenas.
Benita Hewitt, the director of Christian Research, which compiled the figures, wrote on the Church Mouse blog site: “At long last it looks as if we may be reaching the end of decline for church attendance in the UK.
“This news should help to reposition church within the minds of Christians, churches and the rest of society – it’s no longer a dying institution but a living movement. If enough Christians believed that, we might even hope to see growth in future.”
The figures show that in the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, a long-term decline in weekly Mass attendance ended in 2005 and the figures have been broadly stable since. In 2008 there were 918,844 attending church each week, up from 915,556 the year before.
Within the Church of England the researchers found “fairly steady attendance” over the past decade, with 1.145million attending services each week in 2008, compared with 1.2m in 2001.
However this does not include the higher numbers who go to church at Christmas and Easter, nor those who have joined the Fresh Expressions initiative.
The Baptist Union of Great Britain, meanwhile, has seen attendance rise from 148,835 a week in 2002 to 153,714 in 2008.
Christian Research said that the numbers of young people going to Anglican and Baptist services was on the rise, countering fears that church attendance would dwindle as congregations age.
“Given that these three denominations account for much of the churchgoing in this country, the previous forecasts made showing continued decline have been superseded.”