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New research shows 42% say that Churches should be funded by the State

20 April 2004

Four out of ten Britons ( 42%) think that local churches should receive funding from the State through central taxation, says an Opinion Research Bureau (ORB) survey. A smaller proportion, one in four, (24%) believes that the Church already receives such funding from central Government. One in six (16%) also believe that local taxes ought to contribute to the Church's costs, meaning that over half believe that taxation of some kind ought to bear some of the Church's costs. Young adults as well as older ones, Christians, those of other faiths and no faith all feel similarly.

Unlike some of our European neighbours (eg France, where maintenance of historic churches built before 1904 is carried out by the state, or Germany where church taxes are charged), the Government does not provide automatic funding for churches in use.

Certainly some help is available, and that which is received is welcome. Charitable tax relief is available on donations and listed places of worship can now claim a rebate for the full cost of their VAT on repairs carried out after 1 April this year, through the much-valued Listed Places of Worship Grants Scheme. The equally valuable grants scheme for repairs to listed places of worship, operated by English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund is limited in its annual budget and demand consistently exceeds the funds available. In addition, English Heritage provide not only the infrastructure to deliver the grant system, but also considerable technical and professional expertise.
This may be supplemented by (generally smaller) grants from voluntary trusts. New works to churches for community purposes may attract other sources of grant, but the task of funding, fundraising and making applications for the Church falls largely upon the regular congregation, and mainly from the donations of regular worshippers who make up the bulk of regular givers.

Yet the survey also confirms that churches are used and valued far more widely than by their regular worshipping congregations alone.

The research asked a sample of adults about the reasons why they went into a church (or place of worship) in the previous year. Nearly nine out of ten adults in Great Britain have been to a church or place of worship once in the previous year. Reasons for their visits include finding quiet space, for weddings, baptisms and funerals and for community purposes, as well as for regular services of worship.

Six in ten adults have attended a funeral in a church building. Three in ten adults have attended memorial services.

Five in ten adults have attended a wedding in church (or a place of worship), and four in ten have attended a baptism, the same number as attended a service of worship at Christmas. Only slightly fewer, three in ten adults, said they had attended a service of worship at other times of year. Two in ten adults have visited a church or place of worship seeking a quiet space and this rises to four in ten in inner city areas or city centres. In fact, nearly three-quarters of adults see churches and chapels as quiet places or sanctuaries in the community.

The number of people who have attended a community event in a church (or place of worship) is two in ten in rural areas and one in six nationally. These include concerts and theatrical events. Nearly one in five (17%) had been to such an event, and over one in five in rural areas.

The survey will help churches to understand how best to serve the needs of these different visitors. For example, inner city churches choosing how and when to open can maximise their availability to people looking for a quiet space. Many will hope that some who visit for one reason will also discover other reasons for visiting church. The Church can also direct its effort at meeting the needs of those who attend for the broad range of reasons, for example by supporting clergy in their ministry to those attending funerals and other rites of passage. The churches need to find ways of being there for those who are "walking past churches and felt the need to go in," as over one in ten in the survey said - and more than two in ten of those of non-Christian faith and people living in city centres.

The survey also confirms the strong place which the church buildings play in the community, especially perhaps in rural and inner city areas. Rural communities were seen as strong foci for cultural events: city centre churches for social meeting places.
ends

Notes for editors

detailed extracts from the survey are avaialable on www.cofe.anglican.org/papers under the heading 'ORB Survey'

This survey is about the use of churches in Great Britain, across all the denominations. The number of regular Christian worshippers across all denominations in Great Britain is believed to be around 6 million.

The Church of England's churches and cathedrals provided more than 443,200 rites of passage in 2002 including 158,100 baptisms and thanksgivings, 60,800 marriages and blessings of civil marriages and 224,300 funerals. Attendance levels at marriages and funerals are not recorded.

Opinion Research Business interviewed a sample of 1,004 adults aged over 18 in a survey undertaken for the Church of England and English Heritage. Interviews were conducted by telephone between 15 and 19 October 2003 across the country, and the results have been weighted to be representative of all adults.