Number of churchgoers falls by more than 50%

The number of churchgoers in Scotland has fallen by more than half in the past 30 years, new research has shown.

A census of Scottish Christians found around 390,000 regularly attended church in 2016 compared with 854,000 in 1984.

Regular churchgoers in Scotland are predicted to fall to just under 300,000 by 2025 if the present trend continues.

The 2016 Scottish Church Census carried out by the Brierley Consultancy found 42% of Scottish churchgoers are aged 65, which the report noted “is twice the proportion in the population, and has obvious implications for the future”.

The number of congregations has fallen from 4,100 in 1984 to 3,700 in 2016 and nearly half of congregations (46%) reported declining numbers in the past five years.

The average congregation in 2016 was 105 and researchers found the decrease in numbers is equivalent to losing 10 congregations a month.

Despite the overall decline in church attendance, it is less steep than predicted due to increasing numbers in Pentecostal churches and European Union immigration.

Aberdeenshire was the sole area bucking the downward trend with 350 more people attending church in 2016 compared with 2002.

Analysis credited this to Polish immigrants working in the oil industry.

Attendees at Pentecostal churches have almost doubled since a previous census in 2002 and now stand at 19,000, 5% of all churchgoers in Scotland.