Published in Church Times, issues
31 Jan and 7, 14 and 28 Feb. 2014
33% of the British population identify as C of E or Anglican. Over all
age-groups, the C of E remains the largest single religion or denomination. Almost
half of those over 60 are Anglicans, but only one in ten for those in their
twenties. The numbers identifying as RC are steady (2014) but probably boosted
by migration. Orthodox churches are growing but are only 1% of total church
attendance.
Church attendance. Of those identifying as Anglican, 83% only attend
occasionally. Just 17% are attenders, half attend weekly (unless something
stops them) and half attend less regularly (go if nothing stops them).
Anglican identity is not being transmitted to the next generation, but
the drop is so rapid that it seems that older people dis-identify with the C of
E at some stage in life. Belief in God is also declining but not as fast;
people cease to belong or identify with the Church. Many Christians practise
personal spirituality but rarely attend church.
Values. There is a gap between wider social values (the status and
treatment of women, gay people and children) and the Church’s official
teachings resulting in a gulf in values between the over-60s and the under-50s.
There is another gap, with most people in Britain being centre-right and
Anglicans even further right, while the Church’s teaching is further left of
both. The C of E is both more left wing politically and more conservative in
morals, and both more paternalistic and more puritanical. When the church
speaks on social issues it often does not represent the views of the laity.
Some trends are encouraging. There is growth in Pentecostal churches,
immigrant churches, and larger churches (especially in London). Initiatives
such as Messy Church, Fresh Expressions, ‘informal churches’, church planting
hubs, ‘youth church grown up’, ‘deconstructed churches’, ‘churches on the
margins’, ‘context-shaped churches’ and some urban areas. It is not clear whether
their success will continue.
The liturgy of Common Worship may be a barrier. Some value its comfort
and reassurance, while others dislike it (wanting either Common Prayer or
conversely something less traditional and more freeform).
In 2014, there were more than 28,000 licensed ministers, of whom
two-thirds receive no stipend. The fall has been greatest among men, partially
offset by a 40% rise in female full-time stipendiary clergy. The decline in
stipendiary clergy has been off-set by non-stipendiary clergy, which rose
between 2002 and 2007 but is now in decline. The majority of full-time Anglican
clergy is now aged over 50. Fewer than 100 full-time stipendiary clergy are
under 30 and only one in five is a woman. Women are concentrated in
non-stipendiary ministry, and more than half of NSMs are women. Retirement and
death does not account for all the loss of clergy; some leave ministry (reason
why and new employment not known). The number of people in religious orders is
now small: 402 in 2014 (down from 641 in 2002).
Lay people still run a great deal of church activities: youth work,
prayer ministry, hospital visiting, home groups and school ministry (e.g. Open
the Book). Those doing most are Generation A (born in the 1920s and 1930s) who
regularly staff open churches, clean, arrange flowers, catering, rotas, etc. Churches
are active in setting up foodbanks.
The five most common points of contact are: funerals, visits to
cathedrals or historic churches, weddings, Christmas services and christenings.
Regular worship is in sixth place. For over-60s the top three are funerals,
regular services and cathedrals, while for those 18-39 it is funerals,
cathedrals and weddings. There is growing public interest in activities that
involve participation in history – choirs, pilgrimages and mystery plays. While
funerals, weddings and baptisms remain significant points of contact, their
popularity is waning; these occasions are now increasingly marked in individual
and customised ways.
Linda Woodhead has suggested that that the C of E might rethink itself
as a religious franchise offering the following branches: the cathedral group with a commitment to
history and ritual, the heart of
community – largely rural congregations, the Alpha group for Evangelical congregations, the faith-first group committed to Biblical authority with strong links
to Anglican and other churches, especially in Africa, the justice and peace
group focusing on social issues, and open
church for spiritual seekers and doubters. She also proposed that all
Church property (churches and clergy housing) be put into an independent
not-for-profit trust. The branches outlined above could rent back what they
need on favourable terms. The parochial system will die a natural death. The
whole C of E pension fund and liability can be passed on to an independent
provider. A reduced number of dioceses would each have a college of bishops
whose members represent the branches Two archbishops are a symbolic focus for
religion and society, and stand for the whole church. The monarch continues to
be the Supreme Governor of an essentially lay-led church.
END
