Study refutes faith in silent majority

It looks like the too blase interpretation of the 2001 census that many of my clergy colleagues are prone too, is taking a battering. A new study shows that social forces are eroding active church-relating faith. "Many people start or stop regular church attendance. Although absolute numbers are roughly balanced, the risk of churchgoers stopping is much greater than the possibility of non-worshippers joining the Sunday congregation." I suspect that there have been times in the past when the pressure was in the other direction. If secularisation means something, then on the basis of these figures (which seem to cohere with my intuitions), it is that it is easier not to identify with a religious institution than to do so.

I think that this is pretty helpful too;
"The study found that older people described themselves as religious, though not necessarily orthodox. The middle-aged saw themselves as spiritual rather than religious. Younger people most often held beliefs as part of a view of life that they did not recognise as spiritual." That's a really interesting missionary challenge. I would like to see a bit more on that last bit about younger people, it seems to indicate that whole-life stuff is important, and integralism has a solid foothold.

Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Study refutes faith in silent majority: