Church in attendance ‘doom spiral’ despite uptick claim

SUNDAY church attendance is just 80 per cent of what it was in 2019, Sunday Telegraph analysis has revealed, despite the Church of England claiming that it has “bounced back” after the pandemic.

The figures reveal that attendance has more than halved since 1987, prompting clergy to warn of “a doom spiral of the church’s own choosing”.

Last year, this newspaper published an investigation showing that parishes are closing at a record rate.

The investigation found that almost 300 parishes have disappeared in the past five years – the fastest rate since records began in 1960. The figures came against the backdrop of claims that senior bishops and clergy were “putting a gun to people’s heads” to drive through plans to merge parishes and cut vicars.

Data from the Church of England’s latest Statistics for Mission 2022 report shows that nationally, Sunday church attendance is at 81 per cent of 2019 levels, meaning 133,200 regular parishioners had not returned despite Covid restrictions ending.

The Telegraph’s reporting on the reduction in regular parishioners in 2021 was described as “misleading” by the Church, as some Covid restrictions were in place at the time the 2021 report was compiled. The latest figures suggest that this is not the case. The data also show that a further 28 parishes were closed or merged in the past year – below the record-breaking rate seen in the preceding five years when an average of 56 parishes ceased each year.

Responding to the analysis, Rev Marcus Walker, the chairman of the Save the Parish campaign group, said: “As sure as night follows day, if you close parishes and reduce clergy the number of people [turning] up ... will fall.”

Mr Walker, rector at St Bartholomew the Great in Smithfield and a member of the General Synod, said: “This is a doom spiral of the Church’s own choosing. It has the money to turn this around, the question is: does it have the will?”

The analysis suggests some minor post-Covid rebounds in church attendance, as, year on year, average attendance has increased by 7 per cent.

Responding to our analysis, a Church spokesman said: “Our parishes did everything they could to return to normal ... following the huge disruption of 2020 and 2021 caused by the pandemic ... There is unprecedented investment in mission and ministry taking place in the Church ... of £3.6 billion up to 2031.”