New figures from the 2011 Census show that the number of people who identify as Christians in England and Wales has fallen by 4 million over the last 10 years.
The data shows that numbers fell from 37.3 million in 2001 to 33 million last year.
The statistics came as the outgoing archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, claimed that English cathedral congregations are growing dramatically, challenging the claim made by secularists that the Church of England is fading in Britain.
Read it all. For links to the Office of National Statistics data, please go here.
And are the Bishops of England calling emergency meetings about this? No. About women’s ordination to the episcopacy? Absolutely. And just what is behind these priorities?
Cameron.
[blockquote] “The statistics came as the outgoing archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, claimed that English cathedral congregations are growing dramatically, challenging the claim made by secularists that the Church of England is fading in Britain.” [/blockquote]
Except that they aren’t. Most popular English cathedrals now charge tourists to come in and look around (and the entrance fees are quite hefty – try taking your children in with you to view St Paul’s). But they don’t charge for attending services, hence many tourists “attend a service” which they wouldn’t otherwise do.
Rome is a complete contrast – whatever people may say about the Roman Catholic Church, people can walk into a church in Italy without fee, even if it has a Michelangelo statue or a Titian portrait (and many of them do contain masterpieces). The RCC relies entirely on people’s goodwill to make voluntary contributions, whereas CofE is now so strapped for cash it has to slug tourists to look at buildings which were originally designed to tell the gospel to the common people through their architecture and fittings.