Good News for the Church!
(As written for the Church of England Newspaper)
The results of the question about religion in the 2001 Population Census, asked
for first time in 150 years, were released last week. Like the Census conducted
2000 years ago under Syrian Governor Quirinius, there is good news for the
church!
The basic finding is that 72% of the population in England and Wales said they
were Christians. 37 million people is rather more than the 4 million who attend
church every week, or the 6 million who come once a month, or even the 12
million who attend once a year, especially at Christmas. So the good news is
tempered by the obvious yawning gap between profession and commitment in terms
of church attendance.
The number who ticked the Christian box was greater than many had expected.
Christian Research in its Religious Trends publication had estimated the
percentage as 63%, so their figures for the Christian community will need to be
revised upwards. The British Social Attitudes Report put the figure at 53% in
1998; the 1999 European Values Study estimated it at 66%. Even secular
commentators were surprised that so many people had not reneged on their basic
religious affiliation.
The 6% belonging to the other religions emerged much as predicted with 1.5
million Muslims, 600,000 Hindus, 300,000 Sikhs, 300,000 Jews, 150,000 Buddhists
and 300,000 others, a total of 3 million. Just 15%, or 8 million people, said
they had "no religion" (against the 40% estimated in the 2002 British Social
Attitudes Report). 4 million (7%) did not answer the question, which was
voluntary. So nearly three-quarters of the 52 million living in England and
Wales said they were Christian. Add in the higher proportions in Scotland and
Northern Ireland for the other 7 million UK inhabitants, and a very solid
Christian base is established. Let us hope that the media, educational and
political establishments will begin to take these numbers seriously! They have
to be encouraging news too for a new Archbishop and other church leaders.
The Census question of course gave no definition of "Christian". So who are
these "Christians"? At best only a third are churchgoers, and half of these only
come once a year. The majority of the remaining two-thirds of non-churchgoing
Christians believe in Heaven, in God (and would call Him Father), and that Jesus
Christ died for us and rose again from the dead. Though orthodox, most
evangelicals would assert this as insufficient for a saving faith. Only a
minority would believe that the Holy Spirit can empower people today, and fewer
still would believe in the Trinity or in hell.
So how can the church build on this rudimentary faith system in challenging
people to go further in their faith? Analysis of what makes churches grow would
suggest growing deeper relationships between committed Christians and the
non-committed. Ultimately people want friendship, and when churchgoers are
involved in the community (as some 30% are) the opportunities for such
friendships can flourish.
The large majority of the 37 million Christian people will be those who have
been baptised in the Church of England. Although the Research and Statistics
Department in Church House have not published such data for some years (perhaps
they should consider doing so again now), estimates from past figures suggest
about 25 million in 2000. This was known to be a "low" estimate, and it looks
now as though the "high" estimate of 29 million is closer to reality. Add in 5
million Roman Catholics and 3 million for the 220 other denominations in England
and Wales and you get back to the 37 million.
This strongly argues that the Church of England is indeed the Church OF England
(with apologies to Wales!). It supports the importance of Christian leaders
being key spokesmen not just of the church, but into society, as indeed Rowan
Williams did in his recent Dimbleby Lecture.
The popularity of Church Schools stems not only from the fact that many are
excellent academically, but also from the morals that are taught in them.
Traditional morality is still regarded as hugely important at least for
children, and while the Census showed a major dip in the proportion of married
people, that does not stop the desire for integrity, truth and honesty from
being key values for the 21st century. A recent survey amongst those aged 10 to
14 indicated that "tweenagers" also regard these as priority values.
Another survey (of the community in part of Manchester) showed that infidelity
was regarded as a key sin. People yearn for commitment and sticking with it, and
churchgoing Christians seem better able to do this, judging by the smaller
percentage of divorces among them (as evidenced in Northern Ireland, the only
statistics available). Does this offer another opening to the non-churchgoing
Christian? Some churches have found these people are attracted to marriage
seminars, parenting classes and the like.
Are the Census results indicating doors of opportunity for the Church? When a
fuller analysis of the Census figures becomes available sometime next year,
almost certainly it will show that a higher proportion of older people said they
were Christian than younger people. Would it not be grand if in the next few
years the Church of England could regain its confidence, change church services
to meet the needs of the day, and encourage even more of those who attend to
share their faith in their work and neighbourhood communities? That would truly
be good news for the Church!
©Dr Peter Brierley
Executive Director,
Christian Research
20th February 2003