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Church Attendance Has Bottomed Out [UK]
The Guardian (UK) ^ | 9/13/10 | Benita Hewitt

Posted on 09/13/2010 6:58:09 AM PDT by marshmallow

Research shows that the long decline in church attendance has finally stabilised

It's time to believe that the church in this country is no longer in decline. The latest statistics coming from various denominations are clearly showing stability in church attendance and even signs of growth. This news may come as a surprise to many people who believe that the church is a dying institution.

But the news is no surprise to us at Christian Research. We've been watching the church adapt and change over recent years, and have been collecting statistics for some time which suggest that the church in this country is in reasonably good health. There is now enough combined evidence to state confidently that the decline is over.

The long term decline in weekly Mass attendance in the Roman Catholic church in England and Wales ended in 2005 and the figures have been broadly stable since. In 2008 there were 918,844 attending Mass, an increase from 915,556 the year before.

The Church of England has seen fairly steady attendance over the last ten years, with 1.67m attending services each month in 2008, compared with 1.71m in 2001. An important point to note is that the statistics over the past decade include all worship during the week, and not just Sunday morning services. One of the most significant changes we have been monitoring in the church is the growth in mid-week worship, which is an indication of how the church has been adapting and changing over recent years.

(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Current Events; Ministry/Outreach; Religion & Culture
KEYWORDS: freformed

1 posted on 09/13/2010 6:58:10 AM PDT by marshmallow
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To: marshmallow

While there seems to be a resurgence of religion and belief in God in our country, the Brits are not.

Their decline has been precipitated by decades of PC behavior, allowing any foreigners into their country and the complete breakdown of any moral, civil and social authority and responsibility.

The financial woes of Europe can be directly attributable to this behavior.


2 posted on 09/13/2010 7:05:51 AM PDT by Ev Reeman
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To: marshmallow
I suppose it's a kind of good news to hear that the U.K. is observing a steady rate of replenishment as old ladies die off and others take their place. It's "something to build on."

3 posted on 09/13/2010 7:06:38 AM PDT by Genoa (Titus 2:13)
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To: marshmallow

Good news. As a nation loses its soul, it loses strength and direction.

I was laughing at the Baptist attendance figure, though. 150K? I think there is one megachurch in Tx that has almost a third of that attendence, all by itself. No wonder England looks at us like we are screwy.


4 posted on 09/13/2010 7:11:00 AM PDT by I still care (I believe in the universality of freedom -George Bush, asked if he regrets going to war.)
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To: Ev Reeman

Well, in China, Christianity is growing by leaps - I saw articles that by 2030 it will be the majority religion.

Is it a coincidence that China is becoming an economic powerhouse? I think not.


5 posted on 09/13/2010 7:12:28 AM PDT by I still care (I believe in the universality of freedom -George Bush, asked if he regrets going to war.)
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To: marshmallow; Ev Reeman

Note that you can date the change to the assumption of the Papacy by Benedict XVI. Benedict’s return to orthodoxy, both in faith and in liturgy, is what is drawing people back.

Of course, the older British bishops are kicking and screaming all the way. I think they were happy with their dwindling, pointless Church of the Groovy - that nobody wants or needs to attend.


6 posted on 09/13/2010 7:14:41 AM PDT by livius
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To: I still care

I think the fact that Christianity is growing in China has a great deal to do with their prosperity.

Part of that properity also has to do with their recalcitrant embrace of capitalism and free market principles.


7 posted on 09/13/2010 7:24:06 AM PDT by Ev Reeman
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To: livius

I think countries decline over all because they lose their sense of Christian moral, civil and social discipline and responsibility.


8 posted on 09/13/2010 7:26:07 AM PDT by Ev Reeman
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To: marshmallow

Nobody wants to say it, but a lot of people, even devout Christians, are thinking it: unless you really understand the power and significance of ritual and collective worship, and are in the right mood on a given morning, CHURCH IS B-O-R-I-N-G. If they didn’t feel obligated to go to church, a lot of Christians wouldn’t bother getting up early on a weekend to sit in a hard pew for an hour and a half, listing to someone hash out some scriptural point they don’t find terribly exciting.

Mind you, I’m NOT advocating turning services into dance parties, or falling into the trap of changing religion to “keep up with the times.” I really don’t have a solution. But going to church shouldn’t be a weekly chore that people do only to avoid the consequences of NOT doing it.


9 posted on 09/13/2010 7:28:09 AM PDT by Julia H.
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To: Julia H.

We need revival. People who go to church looking for an experience rarely find it. It’s about the experience we bring to it.


10 posted on 09/13/2010 7:30:47 AM PDT by Genoa (Titus 2:13)
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To: I still care
Well, in China, Christianity is growing by leaps - I saw articles that by 2030 it will be the majority religion.

That would be such a great and blessed event if China fully embraces Christianity and our fellow Christian brothers and sisters there can come finally come out into the open. I think the whole world could breathe easier if China became a Christian country.

11 posted on 09/13/2010 7:37:18 AM PDT by pnh102 (Regarding liberalism, always attribute to malice what you think can be explained by stupidity. - Me)
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To: marshmallow

Could it be that they are viewing the Muzzie alternative and don’t like what they see?


12 posted on 09/13/2010 8:07:37 AM PDT by Flintlock
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To: Flintlock
I have spoken to those who work in Christian missions in China and they feel the Christian administrators deliberately downplay the christian presence as not to upset the Chinese authorities. When Chinese authorities say there are X number of Christians in China the Christian groups accede knowing it is not true and in return the authorities allow much greater leeway for the dissemination of the Christian message.

These Chinese Christian leaders know the Chinese monitor presence of Islam throughout the world and are concerned with its violence.

Expect to see a silent surge in Christian presence in China but one that is not publicized.

13 posted on 09/13/2010 8:37:20 AM PDT by bronx2 (while Jesus is the Alpha /Omega He has given us rituals which you reject to obtain the graces as to)
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To: Julia H.

Church was a lot less boring when it was celebrating the traditional latin mass accompanied by the readinf of a Biblical passage and the sermon.

The modern mass has kowtowed to PC.


14 posted on 09/13/2010 9:06:22 AM PDT by Ev Reeman
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To: Julia H.

Why do you find church boring? I don’t. What do you expect to get out of it?


15 posted on 09/13/2010 11:09:45 AM PDT by BenKenobi (We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once. -Silent Cal)
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To: Julia H.

So may I ask...do you consider yourself a Christian?


16 posted on 09/13/2010 11:16:35 AM PDT by Osage Orange (Kill them all...let God sort them out.)
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To: marshmallow

It would appear that the UK is in need of another Charles and John Wesley revival. Unfortunatly, Political Correctness would get them thrown in jail today.


17 posted on 09/13/2010 12:41:24 PM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar ( AKA Rodrigo de Bivar)
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