Figures from various denominations highlight one of New Zealand’s unexplored mysteries ”“ the gap between religious adherence in the five-yearly census and actual church attendance.
Recent statistics from the Presbyterian Church show a total attendance at Sunday services over the past year of 37,714 people ”“ just under 10 per cent of those who said they were Presbyterians in the 2006 census. Approximately a quarter of the attendees were under 13 years.
The Catholics put attendance at 17 per cent of the census figures, probably the highest rate of the mainstream denominations, while Anglicans are thought to score about 15 per cent.
If these numbers hold true for other denominations, a depressingly small proportion of New Zealand’s total population attend church – possibly between 5 and 10 per cent.
However, research indicates the actual attendance figures are higher than this.