Lausanne World Pulse – Pulling Out of the Nosedive in the United Kingdom!
By Peter Brierley
At the same time, some 300,000 people died (more deaths than conversions!) and a further 250,000 stopped attending church altogether. In addition, we lost the equivalent of 350,000 people who now come less often, giving a rough total of 900,000 people who have stopped coming to church, equivalent to losing 2,500 people a week.
A gain of 350,000 people and a loss of 900,000 people make up the 550,000 drop seen in the total figures (3.72 million in 1998 less the 3.17 million in 2005). The picture is confused at local church level by some 500,000 people having moved around the country or from one church to another in these seven years, with perhaps ten percent not finding a church where they could settle. This is offset by ten percent coming back to church after perhaps eight or ten years away.
Why do people stop coming or come less frequently? Partly due to the sheer pressure of life (Sunday is a much more competitive day for activities than it was) and partly because, for many, the church seems irrelevant. Behind this is Satan’s strategy to weaken and ultimately destroy the Church.
Against this somewhat sombre background, the Census nevertheless found that a number of exciting developments are taking place:
1. Some Denominations Are Growing
As Chart 1 indicates (where “All others” includes the United Reformed Church, Orthodox and other smaller denominations), the decline in numbers has not affected every denomination. The Pentecostals, Orthodox and the rather miscellaneous group of “Smaller Denominations” all grew. The Pentecostals grew primarily because of the black churches, the large majority of which are charismatic, and the Smaller Denominations grew because the various Overseas National Churches, mostly non-charismatic, grew. However, those of a different spirituality, like the Quakers and the Orthodox also saw some growth, although small.
The Roman Catholics decreased most in numerical terms (300,000 people); the United Reformed Church (URC) dropped most in percentage terms, declining fifty-three percent over the seven years to just under seventy thousand people. Both the URC and the Methodists have forty-seven percent of their attendees aged sixty-five or over.
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2. Ethnically Diverse Churches Are Growing Black churchgoers are now ten percent of all English churchgoers. They have grown very rapidly, especially in Inner London, where there are more black people in church than white (forty-four percent to forty-two percent) despite there being several very large mainly white landmark Anglican churches in the capital’s centre. Pages: ALL Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next
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Dr. Peter Brierley is the Senior Lausanne Associate for Church Research. He attended Lausanne I in 1974 and has been involved with the Lausanne movement since 1984. Formerly a government statistician, he is currently executive director of Christian Research, a UK charity which produces resource volumes like Religious Trends and the UK Christian Handbook. Brierley can be reached at [email protected]. |
