A recent survey revealed that the number of churchgoers in Scotland has declined by more than half in 30 years, The Telegraph reports.
When the survey began in 1984, there were 854,000 people who regularly attended church. Now, the 2016 Scottish Church Census showed that the number declined to just 390,000.
Statistics also found that only 7.2 per cent of people in Scotland go to Christian fellowships and the number of congregations has fallen by 400.
If this downward trend continues, the number of churchgoers could drop to 100,000 in the next eight years. It also predicts that there would only be one in 20 people in Scotland going to church by 2025, Herald Scotland reports.
Dr. Peter Brierley, the lead researcher, said, “We are living in the 21st century and one of the features of the 21st century is that people’s allegiance to particular faiths is no longer as strong as it used to be.”
He added that according to the poll, most of the active Christians are aged over 65. This indicates that Christianity in Scotland is in “crisis.”
“So, you have a great number of churchgoers dying. The rate of replacement is not as many. That’s the basic reason for decline,” Dr. Brierley explained.
Aside from the aging church population, the “crisis” is also caused by Scots moving away from faith and some were just not able to find a local church in a new community.
The study urges churches to attract a new generation of worshipers. If this downward trend continues, the number of churchgoers could drop to 100,000 in the next eight years. It also predicts that there would only be one in 20 people in Scotland going to church by 2025, Herald Scotland reports.
Sources:
Telegraphcouk. (2017). The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/16/major-fall-churchgoers-scotland-30-years/
Heraldscotlandcom. (2017). HeraldScotland. http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15227243.The_Crisis_for_Christianity_in_Scotland/
