State of faith
A readers sent me a link to an interesting Telegraph blog post on the state of the nations faith which chronicles the further decline of religious faith in Britain. That without Christian migrants would be even more in a free fall.
The Roman Catholics have recorded the largest drop; between 1989 and 1998 (the dates covered by a previous Census) it declined by 3.2 per cent. Between 1998 and 2005, the latest figures, it lost a further 4.2 per cent. In other words, on the measure of Sunday attendance, it has halved over the past sixteen years.
The Oxford movement has become the secular movement. Though considering Oxford today maybe they are the same thing.
The percentage of 15 to 29-year-olds attending has fallen from 15 per cent in 1998 to 12 per cent. The overall drop in the 20 to 29 age group was a staggering 29 per cent, the highest of any age group.
Women are abandoning the pews twice as fast as men (an intriguing finding given the ordination of women). The average age of churchgoers is 45, against a population average of 40.
No real surprise there. All attempts at changing doctrine to fit the times results in a church that comes out of a Jello mold. It looks fine at a distance, but it wobbles and conforms itself to fit the times; and of course collapses easily under the slightest pressure.
Joseph Pearce at the First Things' blog at a good post on the effects of multiculturalism in England.
The trouble, of course, is that the comrades, long since disillusioned with Lenin, have adopted Lennon instead. Whereas the old Marxists believed in something, albeit something absurd and dangerous, New Labour believes in nothing; “nothing” as defined by John Lennon in his sentimentally pernicious imagination: “No heaven … no hell … no countries … nothing to kill or die for and no religion too.” This is the new hedonism with which the secularists want to unite British society; the new uniculturalism to replace the old multiculturalism. It is perhaps not surprising that many Muslims are unconvinced by this self-centered hedonism in which, to return to Lennon, “all the people” are “living for today.” If this is all we have to offer, to hell with it.
Known as 
"Women are abondoning the pews twice as fast as men (an intriguing finding given the ordination of wome)"
Hmmm, has a connect been made here inadvertantly?
The Truth is absolute. When the Anglican Church adopts anti-Christian ideas they lose sight of the teachings of Jesus.
When I was an Anglican minister in England and we were debating women's ordination a female candidate said quite seriously, "When women are ordained it will bring men back to church because they will like seeing an attractive woman up front." Not only was this hilarious in itself, but the pious lady who held the view was herself sixtyish, plump, with buck teeth, thick glasses, with an unfortunate taste in polyester dresses, woolen socks and sensible shoes.
I bet eros cults drew a lot of men, too.
I guess the main reason, then, that more women had been going to church was to check out the men presiding. They can always pray at home, right?
Perhaps this candidate, who has a better sense for marketing than for who the focus of the mass is, thought of herself as a sort of pioneer for seminariettes who didn't win on "America's Next Top Model."