CofE Sunday Service Attendance Falls. Again.

This will come as little surprise but Sunday service attendance at Church of England churches has fallen again. There is a slight mix to the numbers because Christmas services attendance rose, as well as a 2017 rise in the numbers in its "worshipping community" (is this spin or a reaction to changing times?). As The Guardian reports:

The number of people attending the Church of England’s Sunday services fell again last year, to 722,000 – 18,000 fewer than in 2016 – continuing a trend seen over recent decades.

However, attendance at Christmas services in 2017 was the highest in a decade, at 2.68 million, suggesting that services are increasingly seen as an element of festivities rather than regular religious worship. The figure was a marginal increase on last year’s 2.6 million.

Annual statistics released on Wednesday by the C of E also showed a decline in the number of people turning to the church for key life events. The church conducted 106,000 baptisms and services of thanksgiving for a new child in 2017, compared with 120,000 the year before; 41,000 marriages compared with 45,000 in 2016; and 133,000 funerals compared with 139,000.

The statistics follow a pattern of fewer people identifying with the church, or any organised religion. Figures published by the British Social Attitudes survey in September showed that affiliation with the C of E was at a record low, at 14% – and down to 2% among young adults. More than half the population said they had no religion.

But the C of E said its “worshipping community” – people who regularly attend services, not necessarily on Sundays – rose slightly in 2017 to 1.14 million people, of whom 20% were aged under 18 years old.

The CofE is trying hard to modernise by being more active on social media and what-have-you. As the article continues:

In recent years, the C of E has encouraged parishes to organise worship at different times of the day and week to facilitate people whose lives do not fit conventional patterns.

Sarah Mullally, the bishop of London, said: “We live in an age of rapid social change affecting all aspects of life – right down to people’s working patterns and how they spend their weekends. It is really striking to see how churches are responding and evolving in the face of that.

“While there’s a downward pattern in Sunday attendance, the fact that worshipping community – membership – figures are stable shows that for many people, being part of the church is more than just a matter of what they do on a Sunday morning.”