Date: Fri, 14 Feb 97 14:41:52 EST
ANGLICAN COMMUNION NEWS SERVICE
[97.2.2.3]
ENGLAND: DECLINE IN CHURCH MEMBERSHIP
(CT) Church attendance in the Church of England has dropped. The latest statistics which are based on 1995 figures show that the average total Sunday attendance for the Church of England was 1,045,000 in 1995. This is 36,000 lower than the 1994 figures and the biggest fall since the mid-1970s.
The figures were released this month in the latest edition of Church Statistics published by the Central Board of Finance of the Church.
The decline is reflected in the other statistics in the book. Baptisms have dropped from 632,000 to 616,000; confirmations are down from 48,000 to 44,000; electoral roll numbers from 1,479,000 to 1,468,000. Easter communicants were also down from 1,300,000 to 1,265,000. Financial giving by congregations however has increased. The Church of England's total voluntary income grew by œ12.6 million, to œ275,488,800.
The Bishop of Wakefield, the Rt Revd Nigel McCulloch, said that it was time the Church conducted a detailed survey of people's patterns of attendance. We need to test the claim made by parish priests that, overall, there are as many people coming to church as before - it's just that they come less frequently. Certainly this bears out my impression, and that of my fellow bishops, that the life of the Church is stronger than it was 10 years ago