Foreword

Introduction

Church Statistics 2004/5 continues to provide results from fresh attendance measures collected by Church of England parishes and cathedrals since the turn of the millennium. These measures must be interpreted against the background of a growing number of government and other independent national surveys. National surveys continue to endorse the 2001 government census results that indicate a continuing majority of the English population to be Christian. In summary, 72% of the population of England indicated their religious affiliation to be Christian, 6% of other faiths, 14% of no religion and 8% did not state their religion.

In a pluralistic society, Christian denominations continue to play a significant role in the life of our country. Approximately half of the adult population regards itself as Anglican (Opinion Research Business national poll 2005). Church Statistics 2004/5 provides more detailed geographical evidence of the continued involvement of the Church of England in the everyday lives of men, women and children at the beginning of the twenty-first century. This builds on similar information first published in Church Statistics 2002 and has been facilitated by the successful completion of the digitisation of the parish boundaries sponsored jointly by the Church of England dioceses and the Church Commissioners.

New attendance statistics

Following a major review of annual statistical information collection from parishes, new attendance measures were designed with dioceses during the summer of 2000. These are generally based on a four week count by parishes of their attendance levels at church worship in October. There is no single period in the year when church attendance could be said to be ‘normal’ or even ‘average’ but October is accepted by our ecumenical partners as the easiest and most comparable month in which to carry out this quantitative exercise. 

It would be wrong to make direct comparisons between the number counted in church services across October and the figures that churches estimate as their usual Sunday attendance. Examination of the attendance levels collated in this publication in figure 6 ‘All age church attendance 2000 to 2004’ and ‘Church attendance 2000 to 2004’ in tables 4 and 5, reveal a larger church than was previously understood and fairly static levels of church attendance. On average 1.2 million people attended church-based services of worship each week in 2004, 1 million of these on Sundays. Numbers fluctuated week by week, among adults on average doubling at points across the month while almost quadrupling among children and young people. Across a typical month in the year parish church and cathedral worship attracted 1.7 million people but only 1.4 million of these attended on Sundays. The Church is indeed a seven days a week Church, and in 2004 over a third, i.e. 17 dioceses, saw increases over two years in their all age church attendance levels as shown in figure 3 ‘2004 All age church attendance’.

The Church is in contact with many children and young people who do not attend its regular church services.  Over the three year period 2002 to 2004, the parochial returns were used to gather information from the parishes regarding the number of children and young people attending other church-related activities.  Tables 9 to 11 show that over half a million (553,000) children and young people attend non-worship activities compared to around half this number (235,000) who attend church services on average each week and 437,000 who attend each month.   Activities for children and young people held outside regular church services involve the commitment of approximately 136,000 adult volunteers.

Easter and Christmas are festivals in the Christian year when traditionally many attend special occasions of worship in our parish churches and cathedrals. Churches and cathedrals were asked to estimate attendance levels at these festivals for the first time in 2000. The results are challenging, and in the case of cathedrals reflected steadily increasing numbers throughout the year. On Christmas Day/Eve 2004 2.6 million people attended church and cathedral worship, while 1.5 million attended on Easter Day. The importance of these Christian festivals in people’s lives is evident in that Christmas services attracted over twice the average weekly attendance of our parish churches and cathedrals. Figures collected in previous years were directly comparable.

Occasional offices

The church has traditionally monitored electoral roll and baptism levels, but from 2000 parishes and cathedrals have been asked to estimate the number of occasions where people received direct pastoral contact through each of the occasional offices. Marriages can be performed in recognized places other than churches and cathedrals. Tables 22 and 23 showing ‘Total marriages in England’ and ‘First marriages, England and Wales’ (based on local authority registrars’ returns) indicate that just under a quarter of marriages were performed by Church of England ministers. Local churches had significant opportunities for mission and ministry through 426,000 occasional offices performed by their ministers in 2004. Funerals continue to account for half of these which is a significant pastoral load for many clergy.  Table 21 shows that 44% of deaths in England are marked with Church of England funerals.  Baptisms and thanksgivings represented over a third of the occasional offices, marriages and blessings of civil marriages about one in seven. At these essentially family and community events, local churches have unique opportunities for contact among a wide constituency and recent opinion surveys show this to be valued by the Christian public.

Licensed ministers

All God’s people are called to exercise their ministry in his world and in his Church. The statistics of this report relate to ministries which are nationally licensed. This introduction draws attention to some significant trends.

The total number of stipendiary clergy available for diocesan appointments continues to decline. Since the turn of the millennium there has been a net loss of 7%. This is projected to continue at a similar level with the net loss over the period 2005 to 2010 approaching 700 from a current total of 8,818. (These figures include clergy with full-time appointments and those with part-time appointments aggregated to their full-time equivalents. Europe, due to the special nature of its chaplaincies, is excluded.) These projections take into account the expected number of ordinations to stipendiary ministry. This figure stood at 254 in 2005. It is estimated to drop to 235 in 2006 and then rise to 315 in 2007. For the years 2008 to 2010 a moving average of the previous five years ordination figures has been used. The number of people entering stipendiary ministry is not sufficient to replace those who are retiring.  Detailed figures on the age structure are contained in ‘Clergy age profiles and age structure’ in figures 33 to 35.

Among those licensed as unpaid ministers attached to parishes, the number of non-stipendiary ministers continued to increase to 2,310 in 2005. The number of ordained local ministers was 578 in 2005 compared to 545 in 2004 and 311 in 2000; thus there was a 85% increase in ordained local ministers between 2000 and 2005. The number of licensed readers has decreased by 7% over the same period. In 2005 there were 8,094 licensed readers, fewer than the 8,239 in 2004 and 8,694 in 2000 (excluding readers with permission to officiate and active emeriti).

The number of women clergy, stipendiary and non-stipendiary, continues to rise. In 2005 there were 1,466 women in full-time stipendiary diocesan appointments compared with 1,401 in 2004 and 1,140 in 2000, generating a five year rise of a quarter (25%). These figures include the Diocese in Europe. Women make up between one in six (17%) of stipendiary parochial clergy. Out of every eleven incumbents one is a woman (9%). The equivalent figure for clergy of incumbent status is over one in five clergy (23%). Of a total of 357 dignitaries in 2004, 23 were women, two more than 2004 and eleven more than 2000.  Women in non-stipendiary ministry in 2004 made up approaching a half (46%) of the total, and in ordained local ministry just over one half of the total (52%). For licensed readers the equivalent figure is similar at 47%.

The Church also benefits from the ministry of 243 Church Army evangelists, 580 professed members of religious communities, of whom 90 are ordained, and 1,237 chaplains working with mission agencies, the armed services, in hospitals, prisons, schools, higher and further education. In each of these categories of ministry there are fewer people than in 2000. At the turn of the millennium there were 257 Church Army evangelists, 729 professed members of religious communities and 1,258 chaplains.  An increasing number, 301, of non-stipendiary clergy minister within dioceses but outside the formal parochial system.

The total number of recommendations for training in the sponsorship category of stipendiary/non-stipendiary ministry was 377 in 2005 – a rise of 35 over 2004. The numbers of men and women recommended in 2005 were 227 and 150 respectively. The number of people recommended for training for permanent non-stipendiary ministry fell from 153 in 2004 to 126 in 2005. The numbers of men and women recommended in 2005 were 41 and 85 respectively. The number recommended for ordained local ministry was 75 in 2005 (27 men and 38 women), an increase of six from the previous year.

Overall there are a greater number of candidates in training on theological courses (653) at the end of 2005 than were at theological colleges (532). This continues recent trends and is the reverse situation to 2000 when 578 were on training courses and 622 were at colleges. Over the last five years the overall number in training for ordination has dropped 2.5% with greatest number of candidates recommended for training being in the age range 40 to 49 years. The number of readers in training continues to fall, from 1,315 in 2000 and 1,166 in 2003 to 1,070 in 2005 (an 19% drop over five years). 

Financial giving

We can count the number of people who give to the Church by Gift Aid and the total sums that they give. This is the primary source of the Church’s income and it was gratifying to see that the total sum given by these people increased by nearly 7% and reached £215 million.  £64 million was recovered from the Inland Revenue in respect of this giving. On average, before the recovery of tax, each gift was £8.00 per week as shown in table 55 ‘Tax-efficient planned giving average weekly rates’.

The number of tax-efficient planned givers continues to increase and since 2000, when the new arrangements for Gift Aid were brought in by the government, another 105,000 donors now give in this way. It might be expected that some of these donors have moved from just putting loose cash in the collection plate to giving by weekly envelope or standing order by Gift Aid but over the last year the amount given in loose cash went up by 2.6%, corresponding to an increase in giving of about £1.4 million. Giving by Gift Aid correspondingly increased by £14 million.

Income from other sources, such as donations, did not increase at such a high rate. The total income from all forms of donation increased by 5.9% and is now £420 million.

It has long been felt that the Church should be able to encourage its people to leave legacies to the Church for its work in parishes and through its mission and voluntary societies. If the Church cannot talk positively about death, who can?  Over £41 million was left to the parishes in 2004 – a steady increase in recent years and 12% more than the previous year. Since the turn of the millennium the number of legacies has remained broadly static so the increase in legacy income may be due to the rise in the value of estates (for example, because of the rise in house prices) rather than any increase in the number of legacies.

Interesting though these movements in the Church’s income are, they should not in themselves be the source of encouragement to Church people to give. True Christian giving is a response to the relationship that we have with God through his grace and not just because the size of the bills is increasing. The question that each Church person must ask is, ‘how can my giving reflect something of God’s love for me?’

Summary

Today people support their local churches, chapels and cathedrals in many different ways. A national opinion survey in October 2005 by Opinion Research Business revealed that 86% of adults had visited a local church or chapel in the previous year for a wide range of activities alongside attendance at church worship. While the quantitative information is not fully comprehensive, it does provide a healthy picture of the variety of local church life. Church attendance patterns, the role of the occasional offices, the increased diversity of ordained and lay ministries, financial giving and other measures of church support are all continuing to evolve at the turn of the millennium in ways which are beginning to capture the interest of many serious Church commentators. 

We are particularly grateful to the dioceses and the parishes for continuing to embrace new aspects of the annual parochial return exercise. Their co-operation continues to remain crucial to the successful gathering of the information required for this publication, and we are encouraged that they too are finding the results useful for their own forward planning. This edition includes as much appropriate information as possible from the Diocese in Europe and from diocesan cathedrals.

Research and Statistics Department
Archbishops’ Council, August 2006