APPENDIX 1
SOME STATISTICS
DEPICTING THE
SIGNIFICANCE OF
RELIGION IN
BRITAIN
— The 2001 census found that almost
four out of five people in the UK population have a faith. [107]
— Churches are active in their
communities delivering essential services and providing volunteers
often when other agencies have abandoned difficult areas, whether
in the inner-city or deep countryside. A significant proportion
of those who do not identify with any belief say their community
would be poorer if the Church was not there. [108]
— The contribution of faith communities
to society provides economic as well as social capital. For example,
visitors attracted to an area by the presence of a cathedral spend
£91 million in the local economy per year. [109]The
50 million annual visits to churches are worth £300 million
to the economy.[110].
— A survey conducted by Opinion
Research Business in 2005 found that 22% of the nation worships
once a month or more.
— A poll for the Church of England
shows that 43% of the nation's population attend a Christmas service,
[111]up
from 39% three years ago and 33% six years ago. Extra services
were put on in many cathedrals and churches at Christmas 2006
to satisfy demand.
— Aside from the significant number
attending other denominations' worship, more people attend a Church
of England service on an average Sunday[112]
in England than make up the combined membership of all the major
political parties[113]
in Britain. The number attending Church of England services across
a typical month is 1.7 million.
— The estimated weekly Mass attendance
for the Catholic Church in England and Wales together is currently
917,484. [114]
107 Census, April 2001, Office for National Statistics
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/Expodata/Spreadsheets/D6590.xls Back
108
http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr1506.html Back
109
http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/cathedralstats.html Back
110
Churches Tourism Association. Back
111
http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/pr12806.html Back
112
Average Sunday attendance 1,010,000. Back
113
What the parties Claim, The Guardian, Monday 12 April
2004 http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,,1190230,00.html Back
114
Source: The Catholic Church in England and Wales. Back
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