Church of England Experiences Growth in Membership
The Church of England, the main church of the worldwide Anglican Communion, experienced a “small but significant” increase in the number of attendants, despite theological woes abroad.
The Church of England, the main church of the worldwide Anglican Communion, experienced a “small but significant” increase in the number of attendants, despite theological woes abroad. According to a Jan 8th report by the London Telegraph, officials from the church are saying the “figures were signs of genuine growth” – the first such sign in several decades of decline.
The official figures, published on January 7th, found that more than 1.7 million people attended cathedral worship each month in 2003, marking a 1 percent increase over the previous year. Average weekly and Sunday attendance also rose significantly; weekly attendance went up from 1.2 million in 2002 to 1.9 million in 2003; average Sunday attendance rose from 12,000 to 1.02 million. People choosing to hold church weddings and attend Christmas services also rose.
According to the London Telegraph, the statistics were “the first to show any real growth since the Church introduced a new method of counting in 2000.”
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"This is the first sign that there are more people going to church. Perhaps people are becoming more confident about expressing their faith,” said Lynda Barley, the head of research and statistics at the Archbishops’ Council.
Despite the positive numbers, some statisticians warned the picture is incomplete, since the figures do not show the general loss of young faithful attendants.
"The Church is still losing children and that accumulates,” said Peter Brierley, the executive director of Christian Research. “The other problem is that huge numbers of rural churches are so small they are becoming no longer viable."
