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Attendance figures for 2003 published

7 January 2005

Provisional figures for 2003 from the Church of England show that more than 1.7 million people attend church and cathedral worship each month while 1.2 million attend each week and one million each Sunday. 

The figures for 2003 show a small but significant rise of one per cent in each of these measures of church attendance, although the traditional ‘usual Sunday attendance’ measure showed a drop of two per cent to just over 900,000.

Nineteen dioceses* saw an increase in each of their Sunday, weekly and monthly attendances.

The Revd Lynda Barley, Head of Research and Statistics for the Archbishops’ Council, said: “For the first time local churches and cathedrals have clear evidence of an increase in people attending church services.  Also, for every 50 people attending church on a typical Sunday, another 10 attend during the week.

“These latest findings endorse previous research revealing widespread contact and support for local churches and cathedrals. The Church continues to be a valued part of everyday life but the wider community is dependent on a declining core of committed church members.

“The traditional usual Sunday attendance  measure is interpreted differently across the dioceses and is not a statistically accurate measure of national church attendance."

Key features of the 2003 statistics released today:

Adults, children and young people

Adult attendance at church and cathedral worship was one million over a typical week and more than 850,000 on a typical Sunday.  Both these figures increased by two per cent  in 2003 while adult attendance across a typical month (more than 1.3 million) increased by one per cent.  Twenty-three dioceses saw an increase in each of their Sunday, weekly and monthly adult attendance levels for 2003.

Although the national picture of church attendance for children and young people  under 16 years of age remains low, eight dioceses (Blackburn, Canterbury, Chichester, London, Sheffield, Southwark, Southwell and Truro) saw increases in each of their Sunday, weekly and monthly attendance levels for children and young people.

Figures show that 430,000 children and young people attended church over a typical month in 2003 which reflects a small rise of one per cent. Some 230,000 children and young people attended over a typical week while 164,000 attended on a typical Sunday.

Church attendance at Christmas and Easter

Attendance at festival services in 2003 on Christmas Day/ Eve and Easter Day/Eve increased by two per cent to 2.65 million and 1.5 million respectively.  Twenty-seven dioceses saw an increase in attendance on Christmas Day/Eve and 30 dioceses saw an increase in attendance on Easter Day/ Eve.  While Easter communicants - at one million - also rose by two per cent, there is a clear move away from Christmas communion with a drop of two per cent in the number of communicants on Christmas Day/ Eve 2003 (1.2 million).

Church ‘membership’

In 2003 parish electoral rolls stood at 1.2 million having experienced a small increase of two per cent in 2003 following the major revision in 2002.  In some dioceses the electoral roll is larger than adult attendance over a typical month while in others it is noticeably less than adult monthly attendance. This reflects different diocesan approaches to the composition of parochial electoral rolls.

The ongoing pattern of reduction in numbers of  baptisms and confirmations continued in 2003 but parish involvement in weddings and funerals increased by one per cent overall.  Blessings in churches and cathedrals following civil marriage are becoming less popular but marriages and funerals in churches and cathedrals are growing in popularity.

The statistics tables can be viewed here

*The 19 dioceses that saw an increase in each of their Sunday, weekly and monthly attendance levels are: Blackburn, Bristol, Canterbury, Chester, Chichester, Coventry, Guildford, Hereford, Leicester, Lichfield, London, Rochester, St Edmundsbury & Ipswich, Sheffield, Sodor & Man, Southwell, Truro, Worcester and Europe.