Church is where the heart is

Laura (29), a teacher from Middlesex, became interested in church last May when she joined an Alpha course at Holy Trinity Brompton. She found that the open and socially engaging style of the course enabled her to ask serious questions about faith and Christianity. Having been brought up in a Catholic church as a child, this wasn't a first church experience for Laura, but years later it was a very new experience of church. For Laura, church became a place providing a strong sense of 'family' - building supportive friendships.

 

 "I went through a particularly traumatic time this time last year, where family, relationships and health were all affected," says Laura. "At that point in my life I just knew that I couldn't do this on my own anymore. I went to an Alpha course and my life started to change. I found a new strength, God's strength.

"I started going to church regularly from August and it has become the place where I am spiritually refreshed and able to rest in God's presence with others. The church have become my family and an invaluable support network. Although there are still difficulties and obstacles I now have God's love, peace and grace to help me tackle them." 

Methodology

 

7,000 adults are interviewed every six months (a different sample of 7,000 people each time), creating a representative sample of the UK population and forming the largest research sample of its kind.  No other research into church attendance in the UK encompasses so many research subjects and asks for self-proclaimed attendance (compared to taking a register in church on a Sunday morning).

 

Therefore, this research more fully captures people’s own perceptions of their attendance and takes into account the changing face of church: that many people now attend events and activities at times other than on a Sunday morning.

 

Overall headlines and trends

 

One in four UK adults (26% or 12.8 million) go to church at least once a year.

 

The Tearfund data reveal that 15% of UK adults (7.3m) attend church at least once a month at 10% at least once a week (4.9m).

 

Contrary to reports that church attendance is waning, this tracking research (which interviews 7,000 adults every six months) shows that church attendance in Sep 08 was actually slightly higher than a year previously in Sep 07.

 

Significant increases in church attendance among UK adults (aged 16+) from September 2007 to September 2008:

·         at least annually +5%   21% to 26%

·         at least monthly  +2%   13% to 15%

·         at least weekly   +1%    9% to 10%

 

The broader trend over three years since the start of the tracking, shows that churchgoing is holding up well:

·         at least annually: Sep 08 recovery from low point of 21% in Feb 07 but still below Feb 05 level of 29%

·         at least monthly: Sep 08 and Feb 05 are equivalent, at 15%

·         at least weekly: Sep 08 and Feb 05 are equivalent, at 10%

 

Sub-group variations and trends

 

Annual Churchgoing

 

Over the 3 year tracking period we have seen some consistent sub-group variations.

 

The following segments have annual churchgoing levels consistently above average
(%s are Sep 08 scores vs. 26% among all UK adults):
Women   (30%); 65-74s (33%); over 75s (39%);  AB social class (34%); owner occupiers without a mortgage (32%); Greater London (30%)^; Northern Ireland (54%).

 

The following segments have annual churchgoing levels consistently below average 
(%s are Sep 08 scores vs. 26% among all UK adults):
Men   (21%); 16-24s  (16%) ; 25-34s  (22%); C2 social class (21%); DE social class (22%); single people (19%); council tenants (19%); NE region (18%); Yorkshire & Humberside (17%); Wales (24%).

 

The increase in annual churchgoing (attending at least once a year) between Sep 07 and Sep 08 has occurred in most demographic segments i.e across the board rather than only among certain sub-groups.  However the largest significant increases from September 2007 to September 2008 are:

 

By age: 

·         25-34 year olds:   +7%      15% to 22%

·         65-74 year olds    +6%      27% to 33%

·         Over 75 year olds    + 10%  29% to 39%

By region:

·         NW region   +7%  21% to 28%

·         SE region  +9%  18% to 27%

·         Wales   +12%  12% to 24% 

·         Scotland  +8%  19% to 27%

By denomination, in the ‘established’ church rather than smaller denominations:

·         Church of England +6%  28% to 34%

·         Church of Scotland +6%  39% to 45% 

Wales has lower church attendance than other parts of the UK but annual churchgoing has increased recently.  In September 2008, for the first time, Wales is not significantly below the UK average:
Feb 05: 21% UK: 29%
Feb 06: 20% UK: 26%
Sep 06: 17% UK: 22% 
Feb 07: 15% UK: 22%
Sep 07: 12% UK: 21% 
Feb 08: 18% UK: 24% 
Sep 08:  24% UK: 26%

 

Significantly above average for at least 6 of the 7 waves to date   ^ NB London only at 5 waves.

 

Significantly below average for at least 6 of the 7 waves to date