Some more reasons for hope

The following grounds for hope were published in November in the third (2002/2003) edition of Religious Trends. It focuses on the years 1995-2000 with a forecast to 2005 giving information and analysis on church membership and church attendance.

Belief in God is still high

Two-thirds, 67%, of the population believed in God in the 1990s, and over half, 52%, in heaven. Half, 49%, said they believed in Jesus as the Son of God. While these proportions have declined over the past 30 years they continue to be relatively high.

One church in five growing

One-fifth of all English churches, 21%, saw their congregations grow at least 10% between 1989 and 1998. A quarter of a million people joined them in this period.

More smaller churches grew than larger churches: growth seemed to be related to size of congregation, the proportion aged under 45, the church's friendliness (especially if ethnic minorities were present), and whether churches held a youth service, or Alpha courses (ideally for at least three years).

Church attendance grew in one in ten districts

There are 358 Local Authority Districts in England. Growth was recorded in 14 London Boroughs, in eight of them at more than 10%. Of these eight, seven were in the Diocese of London.

Outside London, Guildford in Surrey saw 12.4% of its population attending church in 1998, these 15,600 people growing 4% in a decade. Guildford has the tenth highest attendance percentage in England.

Prosperous areas have highest attendance

Church attendance has been analysed by the Government environmental classification, again for the first time. This showed that 9.6% of those living in the 'Most Prosperous' areas go to church, the highest percentage of the 14 categories. Seven of the 20 in this category are in Surrey. (The lowest are the Coalfields at 5.9%).

Bigger charismatic churches

Charismatic churches are often larger than other churches (more than double average attendance) but this is partly because they have up to 50% more children and young people than other churches.

Many nominals

The nominal Christian community is large. Five people in eight in the UK population say they are Christian, a community figure of 63% largely based on numbers of people baptised as infants and still living in the UK. Other religious groups account for a further 8% with Muslims at 3% the largest component.

However, when looking at the figures a different way, the picture changes. There were about 620,000 Muslims in Britain in 2000 and although the rate of growth is expected to decline, there will be an estimated 750,000 by 2005. Sunday churchgoing among members of the Church of England is expected to fall to an estimated 953,000 in 2005. If present trends continue, the number of active Muslims will outstrip practising Anglicans around 2013, said Dr. Peter Brierley, executive director of Christian Research, which publishes Religious Trends.

Scots attend more

Total church attendance in Great Britain (figures are not available for Northern Ireland) is just under 8% of the population, although over 13% in Scotland. During the 1990s churchgoing did not decline in Berkshire, Greater London or Surrey.

Women ministers climbing

In 2000 there were 34,000 ministers of religion, compared with 115,000 doctors, 94,000 chartered accountants, 75,000 solicitors, 30,000 architects and 17,000 dentists. 10.4% of these ministers were women, a percentage which is climbing from 8.3% in 1995 to a projected 11.9% in 2005. The 2000 percentage varied by denomination, from 56% in the Salvation Army, to 12% with Anglicans, and zero for the Roman Catholic churches.

Hatch, match and despatch

Over a third of all children born in 2000 were baptised before they were one year old. While this percentage is less than it was, it still means that over 240,000 children are brought to a church in the early months of their life. The percentage of first marriages taking place in church is 54%, more than half. Perhaps three-quarters of those who die have a Christian ceremony at the funeral - some 450,000 a year. Many millions of people who do not regularly attend church come to such events as these, with well over half the population thinking such events should be marked by a religious service.

Other figures

Religious Trends No. 3 contains a huge amount of other information of interest to every Christian organisation, church leader, researcher, library, administrator, evangelist and other mission workers. Here are some random snippets:

* 7,400 mission workers serve overseas, more than half of which, 58%, serve with interdenominational agencies.
* Married couples are a decreasing proportion as a type of family. A third of cohabiting couples now have dependent children.
* 28% of the ethnic minority groups in inner London attend church. One third, 32%, of Pentecostal church attendance is by black Christians.
* There are 6,400 church primary schools in England. The largest number of the 4,600 Church of England Schools are found in London, Lancashire and Manchester; and these counties, with Merseyside, have the most Roman Catholics.
* Over 3,000 fires have taken place in churches between 1989 and 1999, of which 59% were malicious. One church in every 16 has been affected overall, but one in nine in the North West and Greater London.
* The number of entries in the companion volume to Religious Trends No. 3, the UK Christian Handbook, has seen for the first time more agency closures in the last two years than new organisations being opened. There were 377 new organisations but 566 closures, or mergers.

Religious Trends No. 3, 2002/2003 Edition. Price £20. ISBN 1 85321 145 1.
UK Christian Handbook, |2002/2003 Edition. Price £28. ISBN 1 85321 144 3.
Both published by Christian Research on November 6 2001 and available from Christian Research, Vision Building, 4 Footscray Road, Eltham, London SE9 2TZ.|