30/1/2009

Welsh people are going back to church in force, according to figures released today (Friday).

Between September 2007 and September 2008, churchgoing in Wales doubled (up from 12% to 24%), representing the highest increase in church attendance anywhere in the UK.

Christian relief and development agency Tearfund regularly interview 7,000 members of the public around the UK about their churchgoing habits, as part of wider research about perceptions of society and world issues, and have identified an unexpected upward trend in church attendance.

'We have been carrying out this research for over three years, and have consistently found that Wales shows lower church attendance than in the rest of the UK but now, for the first time, Wales is not significantly below the national average,' says
Matthew Frost, Chief Executive of Tearfund.

'Our understanding is that more people are attending now than before, even if that is only a couple of times a year rather than every week. This might mean going to church at one of the high points in their family's year, such as Christmas or
Easter, or attending Sunday services or midweek events.

'This is immensely encouraging, because it shows that people are associating church and a belief in God with hope and joy, and a positive way to spend leisure time.

'Could this be evidence of a mini Welsh revival?'

The research questions were framed deliberately to exclude attendance for weddings, baptisms, funerals and other invitation-only events so as to concentrate on voluntary attendance.

Tearfund interviews 7,000 people every six months