Is the Church in decline? Some might draw that conclusion looking at data from the 2023 census. Reporting the results, one media headline said, “More than half the population has no religion”. It went on saying that the proportion of people with ‘no religion’ has increased from 48.2 per cent in 2018 to 51.6 per Read more
Declining and ageing congregations, crumbling buildings and fewer clergy mean some traditional Christian churches are reaching a crisis point. Earthquake-prone churches are common and so are smaller congregations. Declining attendance The most recent data on religious affiliation from the 2018 census shows 48.2 percent of us have no religion. The “nones” group is growing: the Read more
When Josh Coates and Stephen Cranney wanted to learn more about members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), they had to strategise about the best ways to reach them. More and more people aren’t answering surveys, either by phone or online. Reaching a small minority population like Read more
Every fall, our family returns to church. We don’t intentionally walk away during the summer months, but between vacations and camp drop-offs and lazy mornings and opportunities to see family and friends, we tend to tie our church attendance to the school calendar. Come September, we have to remind ourselves why it’s worth it to Read more
Catholic schools are the jewel in the crown of the church in Australia. While parishes continue to decline, the school sector is often booming. The contrast between ageing congregations and young students is stark. Equally striking is the contrast between relatively youthful school staff and ageing church leaders. Twelve months ago, with the Plenary Council Read more
Smaller churches have recovered better from Covid lockdown restrictions than larger ones, a new study has revealed. The study published by Anglican evangelical mission agency CPAS is based on church attendance figures at Easter this year. CPAS found that, although in-church Easter attendance was three-quarters what it had been at Easter 2019, many people were Read more
Across the United States, religious congregations have reopened, or reopened with some health restrictions still in place, after two long pandemic years, according to a new Pew Research survey. But there has been little or no rise in the number of people attending in-person religious services over the past six months, while the number of Read more
Church attendance has fallen by a third since before the pandemic. Many regular worshippers have been attending only monthly since in-person services resumed this summer, a new study suggests. For its report Changing Church, the Evangelical Alliance surveyed 552 church leaders and 1676 church members, over ten days in October. Congregation sizes varied from fewer Read more
My church grew during the pandemic; we can’t find seats. The pews are full. This has been my family’s experience at St Rita Catholic Church most Sundays since the pandemic began. Some weeks, there’s barely enough standing room in the vestibule. When other churches were shutting their doors, ours remained open. Sure enough, the faithful Read more
The New Zealand Catholic bishops are prepared to tolerate the State’s sweeping public health measures, however, they want the mandates and vaccine pass requirements to be continually reviewed. Their support of the government’s Covid measures is contingent on and only justified by, “the emergency situation as it exists at this point in time.” While all Read more