Attendance at Anglican services plummets

ATTENDANCE at Church of England services has fallen to a record low, according to figures published this week, as the Archbishop of Canterbury warned primates meeting in Canterbury of an emergent anti-Christian culture, write Rose Gamble and Stephen Bates.

The figures show that 980,000 people attend church each week, representing a 12 per cent decline since 2004 and the first time attendance has dropped to below a million. Between 1 and 1.5 million people attend Catholic services.

Archbishop Justin Welby, addressing Anglican primates in Canterbury, made reference to these figures, adding: “The culture is becoming anti-Christian, whether it is on matters of sexual morality, or the care for people at the beginning or the end of life. It is easy to paint a very gloomy picture.”  

The Bishop of Norwich, Graham James, argued that the figures came as no surprise, saying: “Whilst the recent trend of the past decade continues, it has been anticipated and is being acted on radically.”
Catholic theologian Jean Vanier  addressed the primates of the worldwide Anglican Communion at their meeting. The founder of L’Arche, a network of communities where people with and without learning disabilities live together, spoke on Thursday at the invitation of Archbishop Welby about creating community.