Church of England R.I.P.

[Gromit]

Annual decline in Sunday attendance is running at around 1 per cent. At this rate it is hard to see the church surviving for more than 30 years though few of its leaders are prepared to face that possibility.

If decline continues, Christian Research has estimated that in five years' time church closures will accelerate from their present rate of 30 a year to 200 a year as dwindling congregations find the cost of keeping them open too great.

Perhaps the most worrying set of statistics for the Church of England is the decline in baptisms. Out of every 1,000 live births in England in 2006/7 only 128 were baptised as Anglicans.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/5662294/Bri tain-is-no-longer-a-Christian-nation.html

Are we a less godly nation, or is the decline offset by the hundreds of new mosques that are popping up?

[paraffin]

I was finding this quite interesting until you went and ruined it with your final sentence/question, Gromit.

There's no justification for an insinuation that these missing Christians are as a result of an increase in Islamic worshippers.

Personally I think it's all those Happy Clappers ramming it down your throat which puts a lot of people off, what with suddenly "finding God" (where had he been hiding, I wonder?).

Apart from the HC set, I think it's simply "not cool" to lots of people being religious these days. They've always got better things to do, seemingly.

[Quizmonster]

Given that Christianity appears to be on its way to becoming a minority sect in this country, I have no idea why we still constantly have to hear on national news programmes what the Archbishop of Canterbury has to say about political matters.
Apart from that, what of the fact that all C of E bishops have seats in the House of Lords and thus a say in formulating laws that affect all of us? Anglicanism is the 'established' religion of England, not Britain.

[anotheoldgit]

all C of E bishops have seats in the House of Lords and thus a say in formulating laws that affect all of us?

Just as the Scottish MPs have a say in the House of Commons on matters only affecting England.

[Quizmonster]

That was precisely my point, AOG! So why do we hear constant whining from English legislators about what you have said but nary a word from them about what I said?

[jake-the-peg]

I don't think the decline in baptisms is worrying. I think it's an excellent sign. More and more people are chosing to bring children into the worl without hanging a millstone of superstitious twaddle around their necks.

It's not just islamic immigrants that boost religious numbers a lot of Christian churches are keeping their heads above water by immigration too.

But we've had centuries of experience of secularising immigrants from Hugenots to Jews. Second generations decline signifanctly, third generation even more.

Time and education achieves where religious persecution fails

[1ARMEDBANDIT]

In my opinion we are a less of a gulible godly christian nation because people are not so daft in this day and age. Religion was a way of self control of the masses in vast areas where it was drilled into you that if you didn`t work hard god would strike you down and that if anyone hit you you must turn the other cheek etc. A sort of invisible national deterrent that instilled fear into your heart. Now at the moment we are realising there is no such things to worry about, god won`t punish wrong doers or reward good people and all religions and the religious leaders should have no place in the modern world.

[jake-the-peg]

I disagree with 1armedbandit's opinion about religion acting as a social control.

I think this is a popular myth. That religion acts as a social control.

There was just as much violence and crime in more religous ages.

I rather prefer Stephen Weinberg's observation:

"Without religion good people would still do good things, bad people would still do bad things,
But for good people to do bad things, that takes religion"

[youngmafbog]

Sorry Jake have to disagree. Religion is simply there to control the masses and bring wealth to the few (Those in the upper echelons of the Chruch.
Luckily many now see through this rubbish and hence the decline in numbers, but have fear the Church is still Wealthy.
As for Islam, well how any 1/2 wit can go with that quite staggers me.
Lets not also foret the main cause of war - Religion.

[jake-the-peg]

I'm always amused how many people think religion "controls the masses" - but never them.

They're too smart to be controlled like that!

If religion controlls the masses how does one explain the massive breakdown of control in countries where there was great religious influence.

French revolution, Russian Revolution,Spanish Civil war , Irish independance

There has been little change in the amount of "immorality" from times when religion was much more powerful.

Medieval England was full of "bath houses" which were basically brothels.

There was widespread acholism in the street as documented in Hogarth's Gin Lane

And I'd way rather walk down the streets of London at night now that 150 years ago!

If religion controls the masses it's not very good at it!

[dance2trance]

church attendance was below 1% in 1890s.