Anglican Church Congregation Numbers Have 'Stabilized'
A new report has found that the decline of the Church of England for the past decades may have been arrested due to a resurgence in patriotism and pride in Christianity. The growth remains slow, but the study observed that the numbers are stabilizing since 2013 nonetheless.
While a slight uptick of self-proclaimed Anglicans was noted from 16.3 percent in 2009 to 17.1 percent in 2015, this is still far from the 40 percent registered in 1983. On the other hand, the proportion of people who say they have no religion also decreased slightly to 48.6 percent in 2015 from a high of 50.6 percent in 2009.
Academic Stephen Bullivant attributed the positive trend to a growing pride in Christianity. "People see Christianity as an expression of Englishness. There has been more rhetoric around Britain being a Christian nation," he said. "People are looking for ways to connect with others. I suspect a larger proportion of people who do say they are Anglican tend to be patriotic," Bullivant added.
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The professor of theology and the sociology of religion at St. Mary's University in Twickenham blamed the decline of Anglicanism in Britain beginning 1983 to "An Appetite for Wonder" written by anti-theist campaigner Richard Dawkins. The book hooked churchgoers who "didn't really believe in God," Bullivant said.
After the herd was thinned out, what remained was a groundswell of genuine believers who helped attract new worshippers, as shown by the survey result. Bullivant described the development as a welcome news and a cause for celebration for the Church of England, the Telegraph reported.
While the numbers of the past three years are worth highlighting, talks of even a modest revival are still premature, but there is undoubtedly a newfound stability nevertheless, Bullivant said. The British Social Attitudes Survey and European Social Survey also indicated that one in four people who profess to have no religion pray.
