London (CNSNews.com) - The Church of England has suffered a huge decline in
attendance at Sunday services over the past decade, but there are hopes for a
revival, according to a new book by a top church researcher.
The Rev. Bob Jackson, a former U.K. government economic adviser and parish
priest, said Thursday that church attendance decreased by 17 percent during the
1990s.
While there are signs that the drop has slowed or even stopped, Jackson's book
sounded a warning and said that Anglicans and other Christian denominations
must formulate a strategy to draw more people into their parishes.
Jackson, who now works as a researcher for Springboard, an evangelism
organization set up by the Anglican hierarchy, noted that the decline in
attendance was a "patchy thing - it's not universal."
"In general, smaller churches are growing while larger churches are in
decline," he said. "There are some new practices that churches are
beginning and these new measures do seem as if they are beginning to have an
impact."
Youth programs, introductory events for adults and "new churches"
where meetings and services are held in schools, community centers and pubs
have been successful in numerous parishes around the country, Jackson said.
According to the government-run Office of National Statistics (ONS), the Church
of England is the country's largest Christian denomination, with about 30
percent of Britons claiming church membership. But only about 1 million people,
or 1.7 percent of the British population, attend Sunday Anglican services.
At the present rate of decline, attendance in 2030 will fall to 500,000,
according to Hope For The Church.
Jackson emphasized that there is quite a bit of good news for the church along
with the bad. One out of every five churches increased their congregations by
more than 10 percent in the 90s and attendance throughout the diocese of London
grew by 12 percent during that period.
Jackson said three social changes in Britain in the mid-90s accounted for a
large part of the overall 17 percent decline: an increase in the Sunday opening
hours of stores and pubs, school sporting events on Sundays, and church
controversy over women priests.
The decision to allow ordination of women resulted in about 400 parish priests
resigning from the church, taking their congregations with them.
Jackson said those social factors were "once and for all shocks" that
wouldn't be repeated.
Anglicans might be tempted to pray for the survival of their church, but
Jackson's book notes: "Unfortunately history does not support this theory
- it is littered with defunct churches."
"Society is changing. If the church changes to meet it, we will be
OK," he said. "If we rely exclusively on tradition, decline will
continue."
ONS figures indicate that about 12 percent of Britons of all denominations
attend religious ceremonies at least once a week.