New statistics show more young people go to a Sydney Anglican Church than in any other Australian diocese

by Jeremy Halcrow

Steady attendance growth within Sydney’s evangelical Anglican churches mirrors a youth-led growth pattern that is seen right across Christian denominations.
Australia is experiencing a dramatic shift in its religious landscape with younger people flocking to contemporary-style Evangelical and Pentecostal church services, while traditional churches are experiencing significant decline.  This is the picture that emerges from the latest National Church Life Survey findings (NCLS).
Attendance estimates from the NCLS – a nationwide ‘census’ of Australian churches – were released this month.  Overall, weekly church attendance in Australia declined by seven per cent between 1996 and 2001.  A major factor in this decline was that the Catholic Church, which represents 50 per cent of all churchgoers, lost 13 per cent of its attendees over that period.
Overall the number of Protestant churchgoers grew by one per cent over the same period, with decline in the mainstream denominations (Anglican, Lutheran, Uniting and Presbyterian) offset by increases in attendance across the major Evangelical (e.g. Baptist) and Pentecostal denominations (eg Assemblies of God).
Anglican attendance estimates point to a similar pattern of growth in contemporary-style churches and the decline of traditional-style churches.  An overall decline of two per cent in the Anglican Church masks significant falls in attendance in most rural dioceses.  Metropolitan dioceses tended to be more stable.
The main exception was the strongly evangelical Sydney Diocese.  On any given Sunday there were 52,000 people in Sydney Anglican churches, representing a nine per cent increase on the 1996 figure.  This growth rate was identical to the national Baptist figure.
Dr John Bellamy, an Anglicare researcher working on the NCLS, said the growth of the Sydney Diocese, along with the Baptists, Churches of Christ and Pentecostal denominations, partly reflects their emphasis on ministry to young people.
The NCLS results also show that Sydney Diocese has a starkly younger age profile than other Anglican Dioceses in Australia.
“The older age profiles of most mainstream denominations means that older people are not being replaced in the same numbers by younger attendees,” said Dr Bellamy.  “Growth occurs where denominations are effective in attracting newcomers to church life, while at the same time successfully working to retain teenagers and young adults.”
General population growth in the Sydney Diocese was 6.5 per cent between 1996 and 2001 compared with nine per cent growth in Sydney Anglican church attendance.
“This shows that growth in attendance is not simply due to population growth,” said Dr Bellamy.  “It also needs to be remembered that migration from non-English speaking background countries, while a significant source of population growth in Sydney, has not been a traditional source of growth for Anglican churches.”
Details: Dioceses in Australia.
“The older age profiles of most mainstream denominations means that older people are not being replaced in the same numbers by younger attendees,” said Dr Bellamy.  “Growth occurs where denominations are effective in attracting newcomers to church life, while at the same time successfully working to retain teenagers and young adults.”
General population growth in the Sydney Diocese was 6.5 per cent between 1996 and 2001 compared with nine per cent growth in Sydney Anglican church attendance.
“This shows that growth in attendance is not simply due to population growth,” said Dr Bellamy.  “It also needs to be remembered that migration from non-English speaking background countries, while a significant source of population growth in Sydney, has not been a traditional source of growth for Anglican churches.”

Details: www.ncls.org.au