Churches in England's biggest cities see a "meagre" rise in attendance at Christmas, while it leaps 200% in rural areas, according to a study.
Manchester had fewest churchgoers, followed by Liverpool, London, Sheffield, Bradford and Birmingham, a survey of Anglican dioceses found.
Hereford diocese had the most, with 10% of residents in church, five times as many as Manchester.
The survey was conducted by Dr David Voas from the University of Manchester.
Manchester's Anglican churches attracted only an extra 19% of visitors over Christmas, it found.
Dr Voas said: "Barely 2% of people in Manchester make it to an Anglican church on Christmas Eve or Day, and practically all those who do go are regular worshippers.
"Whatever people are doing about God, they don't do it in church.
"Urban culture encourages people who are doing their own thing."
He also found Guildford was the area most likely to see a boost in church numbers from "Christmas tourists" - people who are not regular churchgoers but like "mixing a little ceremony into their festivities".
Reverend Robert Cotton, of Guildford's St Mary's Church, told BBC News: "We see a lot of people coming in that we don't see throughout the rest of the year, but that's very good.
"It's far better that people come once a year than they don't come at all."
He said St Mary's held extra events aimed at attracting people who were not regular churchgoers, such as midday carol services for people shopping and working in the city.
His survey, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, found Hereford, Salisbury, Guildford, Bath and Wells and Gloucester dioceses topped the table for highest Christmas church attendance.