It has become common to read of declining numbers at church congregations but a recent YouGov survey appeared to suggest, to the contrary, that there has been a drop in the number who self-identify as atheists.
Among 1,660 respondents, the number saying they had no belief dropped from 38 to 36%, while church attendance increased by 2%.
Commenting on the figures, religious affairs correspondent, Kaya Burgess, recently wrote: “It has long been assumed that the decline in weekly congregations is down to Britons losing their religion and abandoning the church.”
However, he goes on to state his belief that the survey appears to suggest that more people are attending church less frequently rather than giving up on belief itself.
Jim Turrent, lead pastor of Central Baptist Church in Dundee, which has a thriving student body and an average of 400 weekly attendees, believes that individualism, consumerism and a decrease in brand loyalty has contributed to decreases in regular church attendance.
However, he adds: “There is a rising generation, however, that are more committed to the cause than the institution and that is, to some extent, a positive.”
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