The Sunday Telegraph this week reported that measured by regular attendance, Catholics now outnumber Anglicans in England. Church of England representatives disputed the figures, but even by their numbers it’s close and average Sunday attendance is less than 1 million. (In a touch of irony, in the same issue the Telegraph ran lists of suggestions for Midnite masses.)
Why don’t people attend church? Is it bad memories from childhood? Ruth Gledhill of The Times reports that,
The research organisation Christian Research has commissioned the company Retail Maxim to send mystery worshippers in unannounced to judge the sermon, welcome, atmosphere, warmth, comfort and appearance of churches around the country.
First to be assessed were churches in Telford, subject to a recent pilot. Early next year, mystery worshippers will visit churches in the West Midlands.
The scheme mirrors that run by the satirical Christian website ShipofFools, the main difference being that ShipofFools uses volunteers who are Christian. [Retail Maxim will be paying its worship/shoppers £30]
Christian Research wants non-Christians to assess the churches because, in common with increasing numbers of church leaders, the organisation wishes to find out what does and does not work for the reluctant churchgoer. Christian Research is working with ShipofFools to promote the project.
…
The non-church goers will be experienced mystery shoppers who are used to assessing the service offered by hotels, shops and restaurants.
Based on the pilot, there’s anecdotal evidence that nonchurch goers don’t know what they’re missing.
The Telford pilot involved a range of denominations and styles of service from Anglo-Catholic to a service involving a “lot of people lying on the floor and being healed.”
The results had been “amazingly positive”, she said.
Mrs Hewitt, whose background is in commercial research, said it was essential that the churches gained an insight into how they were viewed from the “outside-in” by non-churchgoers.
She said: “We have had some of our mystery worshippers saying that they were really amazed by what they found – by the atmosphere and the welcome before the service, when they went in and after the service and the fellowship.
“It was all so far from their expectations that they had before they came in – often based on childhood when they saw the church as a boring experience where you were made to feel guilty.”
See also the Church Research (UK) press release here.