scholarly journals North to South: A Reappraisal of Anglican Communion Membership Figures

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Muñoz
Keyword(s):  
Church Membership ◽  
Steep Decline ◽  
Ecclesial Identity ◽  
First World ◽  
Global Growth

AbstractIn recent decades Anglicans have developed a largely unquestioned and unchallenged narrative of global growth and decline. This narrative tells a story of Anglicanism’s success being largely due to growth in developing, postcolonial nations which, according to the narrators, is ongoing and unstoppable. At the same time, first-world, mostly postmodern nations have seen a steep decline in church membership and attendance. Numeric growth and strength have been used to define ecclesial identity and to legitimate understandings of ‘Anglican orthodoxy’. This article offers an up-to-date reappraisal of Anglican Communion membership and, in that process, challenges many of the premises of such a narrative.

1918–39—The Depression Years

2019 ◽  
pp. 175-214
Author(s):  
Clive D. Field
Keyword(s):  
Religious Commitment ◽  
First World War ◽  
Religious History ◽  
Church Membership ◽  
World War ◽  
Protestant Church ◽  
Religious Broadcasting ◽  
The First World War ◽  
Post War ◽  
First World

The inter-war years are a comparatively neglected period of British religious history. Yet, on the measure of ‘active church adherence’ used in this book, they emerge as far more significant in Britain’s secularization journey than the intensively studied 1960s. Between 1918 and 1939, there was a marked shift away from religious commitment and participation towards nominalism, especially in the Free Churches. Although Protestant church membership recovered after the First World War, it peaked in England and Wales around 1927 and dropped absolutely thereafter. There was no such post-war recovery in churchgoing, rather an acceleration of decline, partly because people worshipped less regularly. This fall was fuelled by a weakening Sabbatarian culture and competition from Sunday cinema and religious broadcasting. Congregations were also ageing and take-up of Anglican baptismal and marriage services diminishing. A further 2 million Sunday scholars were lost, while the number of religious ‘nones’ rose by 1 million.

1939–45—Puzzled People?

2019 ◽  
pp. 215-244
Author(s):  
Clive D. Field
Keyword(s):  
Church Of England ◽  
First World War ◽  
Church Membership ◽  
World War ◽  
Opinion Polling ◽  
The First World War ◽  
Data Gaps ◽  
Second World ◽  
First World ◽  
The Church

Analysis of the Second World War’s impact on religious allegiance is affected by data gaps and doubts about the accuracy of opinion polling and the rigour of membership roll revision. But the Church of England lost some market share, the Free Churches slid further towards nominalism, and the number of ‘nones’ grew, absolutely and relatively, more than in the First World War. Church membership losses were greatest in 1939–42. There were 1 million fewer Sunday scholars. Unlike the First World War, there was no temporary revival of churchgoing at the start of the Second World War, only continuous decline in Protestantism, with the index of attendance at ordinary services often reduced to ten or less, half of adults never attending or solely for rites of passage. The decrease is partly explained by wartime disruptions but churchgoing also faced competition from Sunday cinema and the BBC’s enhanced portfolio of religious broadcasts.

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