Church attendance in Wales ‘plummeting’

May 9 2008
by Sarah Miloudi, Western Mail

CHURCH attendance in Wales could decline to less than a quarter of its current level according to an analysis of the country’s religious trends.

New figures compiled after an analysis of membership of religious bodies have revealed the numbers attending church on a monthly basis could fall from 200,000 to fewer than 40,000 over the next four decades – that is less than the average attendance at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge football ground.

If the predictions are proved true, by 2050 Wales will be home to the smallest church-going population in Britain, as attendance in England was predicted to fall from three million to 700,000, and in Scotland it is expected to decline from 550,000 to 140,000 in the same period.

The figures published yesterday are specific to the numbers attending services based on Christianity, and showed the decline was particularly acute among Methodist and Presbyterian worshipers. the rest image

Added: Cardinal says Britain must not be a 'God-free zone'