1LoverofGod
Well-known
*** Apostasy is growing.
Nearly two-thirds of priests in the Church of England said Great Britain “can no longer be described as a Christian country,” a landmark survey by The Times of London revealed Tuesday.
About 64.2% of clerics said Britain could only be called a Christian nation “historically, not currently,” while 24.2% said the Christian adjective still applies.
The clerics’ assessment dovetails with 2021 census results reported by Britain’s Office for National Statistics, which noted less than half the population of England and Wales identified as Christian, falling from 33.3 million in 2011 to 27.5 million in 2021. Those identifying as having “no religion” rose from 14.1 million in 2011 to 22.2 million in 2021.
Survey respondents expressed little optimism about the church’s future. Only 43.9% of priests indicated it is “very likely” that they would still be holding a service every Sunday in 10 years. And 66.7% anticipate church attendance to continue to decline in the next decade.
The survey of 5,000 priests with British addresses, selected randomly from a clerical directory, drew 1,436 responses, of which 1,185 priests were still serving. The Times of London said it was the first attempt at a nationwide survey of clerics since 2014.
The newspaper said the majority of those same priests want the church to stop opposing premarital and gay sex and to start conducting same-sex weddings, which currently is blocked in favor of “blessing” ceremonies for gay couples.
In a significant shift, 80.2% of clerics said they would support appointing a woman as the archbishop of Canterbury, the church’s top job whose holder traditionally leads the global Anglican Communion. While women have been ordained as priests for decades, they were only deemed eligible to serve as bishops since 2014.
More than two years will likely pass before the Church of England will have to confront that possibility, however. The Times of London reported that the Most Rev. Justin Welby, the current archbishop, will reach the retirement age of 70 in January 2026.
More
www.washingtontimes.com
Nearly two-thirds of priests in the Church of England said Great Britain “can no longer be described as a Christian country,” a landmark survey by The Times of London revealed Tuesday.
About 64.2% of clerics said Britain could only be called a Christian nation “historically, not currently,” while 24.2% said the Christian adjective still applies.
The clerics’ assessment dovetails with 2021 census results reported by Britain’s Office for National Statistics, which noted less than half the population of England and Wales identified as Christian, falling from 33.3 million in 2011 to 27.5 million in 2021. Those identifying as having “no religion” rose from 14.1 million in 2011 to 22.2 million in 2021.
Survey respondents expressed little optimism about the church’s future. Only 43.9% of priests indicated it is “very likely” that they would still be holding a service every Sunday in 10 years. And 66.7% anticipate church attendance to continue to decline in the next decade.
The survey of 5,000 priests with British addresses, selected randomly from a clerical directory, drew 1,436 responses, of which 1,185 priests were still serving. The Times of London said it was the first attempt at a nationwide survey of clerics since 2014.
The newspaper said the majority of those same priests want the church to stop opposing premarital and gay sex and to start conducting same-sex weddings, which currently is blocked in favor of “blessing” ceremonies for gay couples.
In a significant shift, 80.2% of clerics said they would support appointing a woman as the archbishop of Canterbury, the church’s top job whose holder traditionally leads the global Anglican Communion. While women have been ordained as priests for decades, they were only deemed eligible to serve as bishops since 2014.
More than two years will likely pass before the Church of England will have to confront that possibility, however. The Times of London reported that the Most Rev. Justin Welby, the current archbishop, will reach the retirement age of 70 in January 2026.
More
Most Church of England priests say Britain no longer a Christian nation, warn of ‘extinction’
Nearly two-thirds of priests in the Church of England said Great Britain “can no longer be described as a Christian country,” a landmark survey by The Times of London revealed Tuesday.
www.washingtontimes.com
