T he Second International Lausanne Consultation on Nominalism gets under way in March,

Transcription

1 Nominal Christians T he Second International Lausanne Consultation on Nominalism gets under way in March, 2018, in Rome. The first such Consultation took place in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, in England in December As a result of e Lausanne Consultation at took place in Pataya, Thailand, in June 1980, in which many gaered to ink rough e issues connected wi global evangelisation, several booklets emerged wi titles such as Nominal Christians among Roman Caolics,... among e Orodox,... among Protestants, as well as oers looking at Traditional Religionists in various countries and continents. Religious Positions The phrases Nominal Christian and Notional Christian have partly dropped from extensive use in e last few years. Nominal Christians were originally defined as ose people who were church members and believed in God but who never attended church (except perhaps at Christmas or Easter), while Notional Christians were ose who believed in God but who never attended church and do not necessarily make any effort to follow e Christian eic (perhaps because ey confuse Christianity wi Britishness ). Numbers for bo were estimated along e following lines for e UK: Table 1: Overview of Religious Positions, 1980 to 2020 Belief in e Christian God Non-belief in Christian God Year Total Regular attenders Not yet Church members Normal Church members Non-regular attenders Nominal Church members Notional Christian Total Oer Religions Nonreligious Column A B C D E F G H E This Table may be read as follows. The figures in Columns A and F total 100, which represents e entire population. Column A is e total of Columns B, C, D and E; Column F is e total of Columns G and H. Regular churchgoers are e total of Columns B and C. Church members are e total of Columns C and D. Each percentage is a percentage of e entire population in at year. There is no suggestion at any of ese definitions is watertight. Figures for 1980 and were first published in 1997, but have been updated in is Table; figures for 2000 were originally based on data in UK Church Statistics , as were e original figures for 2010, but ese (and ose for 2020) have been revised in e light of e 2011 Census figures. The value of e Table is at it gives a total national perspective, and at it seeks to indicate trends. The figures shown come from a variety of sources attendance (B + C) largely from Church Censuses, membership (C + D) largely from individual denominations, e percentage who are Christian (A) from government Census data, e numbers belonging to oer religions (G) from ose various religions. The split between Columns B and C relies on sample surveys. This means at e figure in Column E is e balancing figure between Column A and Columns B, C and D, and e figure in Column H e balancing figure between Column F (which is always 100 less e percentage in Column A) and Column G.

2 PAGE 2 The figures in Column A are critical. The 2000 figure of 72 comes from e 2001 Population Census. The 2010 figure is taken from e 2011 Census (which put it at 59), but it is at odds wi e figure from British Social Attitudes (BSA) which would put it lower. The forecast 2020 figure is 2 based in part on e number of church funerals and e age of churchgoers, and e number likely to join e church in e 10 years leading up to The BSA larger numbers for ose who say ey have no religion (40) are similar to e 2011 YouGov survey of 64,300 people of whom only 55 said 3 ey were Christian, and to e 2011 Premier Radio study which showed 56 Christian, 35 No 4 religion and 9 Oer religions. The key trends shown are:! Church membership (total of Columns C and D) declines by half in e 40 years 1980 to 2020;! The proportion of e population who are churchgoing church members (Column C) declines much faster an e non-churchgoing members (Column D);! The declining proportions of nominal Christians, which are largely, one assumes, because many are older people who are literally dying out (Column D);! The fast declining proportion of notional Christians (Column E);! The fast increasing proportion of e non-religious (Column H). Those in Column D will say ey believe in e Christian God but virtually never (if ever) attend church, even ough ey are church members, indicating ey probably attended church at one stage. Some call is group de-churched ey have come out of a church involvement. Is ere a confusion between eir agreement wi I believe in God wi I believe in Christianity, as Edward 5 6 Bailey has argued? Some in Columns D and E would describe emselves as deconverting because God did not help em, especially in times of trouble. In his book The Future of Christianity David Martin quotes Regis Debray s comment, The twilight of e gods turns out to be e morning of e 7 magicians. A later name for em is invisible. Why should ose in Column E who are not church members and have never attended church be included at all? Simply because ey say ey believe in God and sign emselves as Christian on a Census form. The fact at is proportion stayed at almost ree-fifs (57) of e population for e period suggests at it is ese, raer an nominal Christians, who might be mistaken as followers of an implicit religion. As Callum Brown indicates, what [once] made Britain Christian was e way in which Christianity infused public culture and was adopted by individuals, wheer 8 churchgoers or not, in forming eir own identities. They are different from ose in Column H who neier believe nor say ey are Christian. Those in Column E, however, decline by a ird between 2000 and 2020, suggesting ey are a dying group. European figures 9 The publication of e first two parts of e European Churches Handbook enabled figures for and 1990 along e lines of Table 1 to be compiled, and is reproduced below in Table 2 on e next page. Figures for later years are unfortunately not available. The Table shows much larger proportions of nominal Christians in Scandinavia, along wi e Neerlands and bo parts of Ireland, an in e oer western countries of Europe including Britain. The situation did not change greatly in e 1980s. Notional Christians on e oer hand were more uniformly distributed across ese 11 countries except for e Neerlands and e Republic of Ireland. The letters in e columns correspond to e same letters and columns in Table 1.

3 PAGE 3 Table 2: Religious Structure of Various European Countries Country Not yet Normal Nominal Non- Not yet Normal Nominal Non- Popu- church church church Notional Christ- church church church Notional Christ- lation Total members members members Christian ian Total members members members Christian ian mns Column A B C D E F A B C D E F ~ Austria 92 ½ 26½ 9½ 55½ 8 89 ½ 21½ 13 ½ 53 ½ France 86 ½ 12½ 9½ 63½ ½ 12½ 8½ 63 ½ French-speaking Switzerland 95 ½ 16½ 9½ 68½ 5 84 ½ 14½ 8½ 60 ½ Spain Denmark Finalnd Norway The Neerlands Great Britain N Ireland 90 6½ 42½ 20½ 20½ ½ 40½ 15½ 20½ Irish Republic OVERALL ½ 14½ Religious or Spiritual? The above comments may be helpful in discerning some key trends, but some would argue e logic is too rigorous and at life is much more messy an at. It probably is! Some years ago, anoer dichotomy emerged in a number of surveys which took e concept of nominal and notional one stage furer. Tables 1 and 2 may help define religiousness but ey do not define spirituality, and answers to different sets of questions in public surveys show at many people are unclear about what ese words mean. What is e difference between being religious and being spiritual? Are people eier/or or can ey be bo at once? While some religious people might also describe emselves as spiritual, would some spiritual people also describe emselves as religious? A possible explanation of e terms could define religious people as submitting to and adhering to e auority and practice of any established religion/set of religious beliefs. Spiritual people on e oer hand could be defined as experiencing, or being aware of, eier wiin or 11 wiout an established religion, a reality beyond e physical, mental and tangible. Professor Steve 12 Bruce of Aberdeen University suggests in his book Secularization at spirituality has ree features: a belief in some sort of supernatural force or entity, a perception at being spiritual changes how one sees and feels about e world, and an eical dimension at being aware of our spiritual nature should make us better people. Alternative spirituality is e preserve, he says, of middle-aged, middle-class women wi university-level qualifications. Women wi no educational qualifications do not engage wi holistic practices centred on personal grow: ey prefer horoscopes, fortune-telling, astrology and tarot. 13

4 PAGE 4 14 An American academic paper gave e following figures for US and German students, and 15 e UK figures have been added. Table 3: Religiousness and Spirituality in Three Countries GERMANY Spiritual? YES NO Total Religious? YES NO Total UNITED STATES Spiritual? YES NO Total Religious? YES NO Total UNITED KINGDOM Spiritual? YES NO Total Religious? YES NO Total Attempts to interpret ese results may not always be valid. For example, in Germany e religious percentages are much higher if a specific religious event has occurred in a person s life, such as a conversion experience, perhaps baptism or confirmation, becoming a church member, taking first communion. This would result in e top line 10 and 31 of e Table becoming 25 and 42, and e second line, 11 and 48 becoming 12 and 21. In e United States, such a situation seems rarer. In oer words, e religious percentage (which is higher an in Germany) is not significantly increased by a specific religious event in a person s life. On e oer hand, ose describing emselves as spiritual may become disaffected and consequently e percentage is decreased by some kind of active disaffiliation. Such disaffiliation seems more common in e United States an elsewhere, according to 16 anoer piece of academic research. Nearly half, 44, of ose who have deconverted from Christianity said it was because of interpersonal dissatisfaction which is academic-speak for people saying at God did not help em in times of trouble. Raer more, 84, said ey left e church because ey were frustrated by Christian beliefs or not getting honest answers to difficult questions. Very few ex-christians were drawn away from Christianity by non-christian friends or relationships. The dissatisfaction is probably age-related also. Three times more Americans in eir 20s an in eir 60s feel at religion in American life is less important now an 5 years ago. While detailed explanations are lacking for e UK figures, ose given are closer to Germany an to e US. It could erefore be inferred, perhaps, ough some might regard is as a sweeping generalisation, at a number of Europeans become religious rough a specific event even ough ey have had a childhood wiout fai, while Americans may lose eir childhood fai, in which ey have been brought up, as ey grow older. However, until such terms have a clearer definition, and wider research has been carried out, such implications can only, at best, be regarded as tenuous.

5 PAGE 5 Is ere a link between Tables 1 and 3? Does e 12 in e UK Religious/Spiritual box in Table 3 correspond to e total of Columns B, C, D and G in 1990 (18) of Table 1? The 39 Not Religious/ Not Spiritual box in Table 3 could correspond wi Column H (33 in 2010). Notional Christianity (Column E) is en somehow a mix of Not Religious but Spiritual and Religious but Not Spiritual. But Nominal Christianity is surely a mix of ese two as well. What is Spirituality? Spirituality is seen as someing inherent which people develop or shape for eir own individual selves raer an it being shaped by e formality of a religious organisation. Spirituality is somehow about inner being raer an community or society, and is expressed by buying resources (like a meditation course or going on a pilgrimage or taking yoga classes). The World Values Study suggests at spirituality is higher in Caolic and Orodox countries, and is us more to do wi a belief in e beneficent spirit world, such as angels, or saints. Spirituality differs from religiousness in at if a person feels ey are spiritual ey will still continue to feel at as ey get older, whereas ose who say ey are religious are more likely to stop calling emselves at as ey get older, despite e fact at people have more confidence in religious institutions as ey age. In terms of holistic spirituality, Bruce suggests it lacks any levers to extract more commitment 17 an e participant wants to give at any time. The word spirituality conjures up different meanings for different people. The Birmingham and Solihull Mental Heal NHS Foundation Trust undertook a comprehensive survey on e topic, in which e first question asked, What is spirituality?, e largest answers to which are shown in Table 4: Table 4: What is Spirituality? It can sometimes be expressed rough religion, but not always It is about e deepest part of our inner self / soul It forms part of our identity It helps us in a hard time/crisis It is a source of peace It gives us our values It is a source of hope... It is about relating to God While ese answers are different from e meaning of Spiritual in e book edited by Grace 19 Davie, Predicting Religion, ere is a degree of overlap. In at book Spiritual is defined as exploring e inner self (63), meditating (59), searching for e meaning of life (53), praying privately at home (31), upholding humanistic values such as justice and equality (29). The overlap comes somewhere in e realms of inner being, understanding our values, wanting peace. The whole spiritual debate could be taken into a different direction altogeer. The churches in e UK can be divided into Trinitarian and Non-Trinitarian, e latter accounting in total for half a million members in 2015 (one-seven of total church membership). They include e Christadelphians, Church of Christ Scientist (Christian Scientists), Church of Scientology, (The) Family (or 20 Children of God), Community of Christ, Global Church of God, International Churches of Christ, Jehovah s Witnesses, Living Church of God, Mormons (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints), (Swedenborgian) New Church, Spiritualists, Unification Church (Moonies), e Unitarians and Free Christian Church and oers. In is context Trinitarian is defined as ose groups which accept e historic formulary of e Godhead as e ree eternal persons, God e Faer, God e Son and God e Holy Spirit, in one unchanging Essence. 21 These are not e same as e many New Religious Movements, e largest of which (in e UK 22 in 2007) were e School of Meditation (4,500 people), 3HO (3,700), Sri Saya Sai Service Organisation (adherents of e guru Sai Baba) (2,700), School of Economic Science (2,500) and e

6 PAGE 6 23 Pagan Federation (2,400). There are also e Druid Network, e Falun Gong, Mazdazman, and e Society of Inner Light to name but a few oers. What is Religiousness? Table 4 shows at spirituality and religion are perceived differently, alough one may sometimes embrace e oer. Grace Davie s book gives ese answers to what religious means: 77 Participating in church rituals (such as e Eucharist) 71 Subscribing to religious doctrines 69 Sharing in worship at church 23 Studying e Bible at home 18 Respecting nature Religion perhaps implies a formality or a tangibility, whereas spirituality is more informal and less tangible. The phrase at was being favoured in 2011 about is uncertain type of religiosity was 24 Fuzzy Christianity which had been introduced by Prof David Voas. He suggested at religious commitment in Great Britain comprised ree groups of people: e Religious (25), e Non-religious (35) and e Fuzzy Faiful (40). Why do people become less religious? Is it because ey are less involved wi communities of fai or vice versa? A loss of fai in God due to disappointment or disillusionment? Is it because religion is seen more as a choice, such as which sport shall I play? Does God figure less in people s account of e world? Is it at children are brought up to ink more independently? Or do religious values become swamped by materialism and pleasure activities? All ese ideas have been suggested, including e idea at e 2011 Arab Spring was not primarily religious, even if spirituality played a part. Involvement wi a religious person may well be e prelude to engagement. Transmission in a family context is still key. Some have suggested at e Meodist decline is partly because leadership expected parents to pass on e fai to eir children and at hasn t happened. Denominations taking a more individual approach, like e Pentecostals, are growing. In oer words, being religious implies a more personal commitment, perhaps to an external auority. 25 Prof Linda Woodhead of e University of Lancaster and Abby Day of e University of Kent looked at e problem a different way, suggesting ere are four types of Christian people: 26! Moral Christians, who admire Christian eics and feel an affinity to Christianity! Enic Christians, who say ey are Christian because ey are British or because it is eir culture! Cradle Christians, who were baptised as babies! Faiful Christians, who go to church, read eir Bible, say eir prayers and for whom fai is an active experience. Putting percentages to ese four groups is uncertain, but it may be ey could be 2, 4, 30 and 6 respectively, leaving a gap of 17 to make up e 59 of British people who ticked Christian in e 2011 Population Census. That 17 would be e Invisible Christians referred to later. Believing wiout Belonging Prof Grace Davie, en Professor of Sociology of Religion in Exeter University, made a great impact 27 wi is subtitle to her 1994 book, Religion in Britain since 1945, as she tried to sum up where people were spiritually. They were no longer church members but ey still believed in Christianity. She rightly rew out e reverse, Belonging wiout believing, which may have been more true of an earlier generation, especially of e ree million who joined e church between 1920 and 1950, 28 despite or because of e turbulence of e World Wars. But even e grounds which Davie made clear for believing wiout belonging were changing

7 PAGE 7 in e 1990s, and when Prof Paul Heelas along wi Linda Woodhead made eir detailed study of 29 religion in e town of Kendal in norern England in e year 2000, eir book had e subtitle why religion is giving way to spirituality. All ree (Davie, Heelas and Woodhead) were wrestling wi e changes in spirituality at 30 were taking place, and eir combined 2003 book simply illustrated where ey had reached. Oers, such as Canon Alan Billings, a parish priest in Kendal and undoubtedly aware of e University s research, looked at e same seemingly secular situation but from a warm pastoral heart. Billings 31 book, sub-titled e role of e Church in a time of no religion, contended at e traditional sociological view of secular Britain was misleading. He felt e Church would understand its contemporary ministry and mission better if it ought of e nation as culturally Christian. Grace Davie summed up e difficulty in understanding trends by sub-titling her latest book, 32 Religion in Britain, a persistent paradox, which is probably very fair comment! Nobody could have foreseen how Christianity in e UK would change in e years after 1994 and e publication of her initial book on is topic. Christianity has suffered a steady ough not yet catastrophic decline in its presumed strongholds: rural areas wi a settled population, or schools favoured by e middle class 33 and so on. Church-going in London, however, along wi many oer religions, in total contrast, had risen quite sharply. Church attendance in Greater London increased from 620,000 in 2005 to 720,000 in an unprecedented grow in any urban context. The grow came about in ree broad areas huge numbers of churches (chaplaincies ey were called) for different language groups, spearheaded by e Roman Caolic Church (over 35 languages in Westminster Diocese alone); aggressive and very enusiastic church planting by many Pentecostal Black churches, some 400 new churches in London alone in ese 7 years; and an increasing number attending some of e large Evangelical churches in e capital. London attracts a high percentage of young worshippers partly because 18 of London s population is in eir 20s (against 11 in Britain as a whole), but also because London has many immigrants, a large proportion of whom are also in is age-group. The real driver is London s emergence as a world city, where nearly 40 of e population was born outside Britain. Religion in e metropolis is affected... more by trends in e world... in favour of exuberant forms of worship such as Pentecostalism. 35 Davie suggested a replacement in her latest book of her famous phrase, which is unlikely to be 36 so popular, From obligation to consumption. She is conscious of ose who sometimes feel religious in some way who, while ey might attend church occasionally, feel little necessity to do so, or to continue to do so if ey no longer wish to. Davie anticipated in ought what Archbishop Justin Welby said of e UK in an interview wi Nick Robinson on e Radio 4 Today programme on 14 December 2017, at e country has moved from a sense of inherited fai to fai by choice, and at is a smaller group of people. 37 Vicarious Religion Prof Grace Davie has also explored e concept of vicarious religion. What is vicarious religion? She defined it as e notion of religious ritual performed by churches and church leaders on behalf 38 of a much larger number, who (implicitly at least) not only understand, but quite clearly, approve of what e minority is doing. She cites ritual at baptisms or funerals as examples. Is is Nominal Religion? Davie would argue at church leaders and churchgoers are believing on behalf of oers. She would also argue at church leaders and churchgoers are expected to embody moral codes on behalf of oers, even when ose codes have been abandoned by large sections of e populations at ey serve. 39 Is e role of e Church to be ere when we need it? In March 1996, a madman went loose in a school in Dunblane, Scotland, and shot 16 children and a teacher. The following night a huge queue of people waited outside e small Caedral ere wishing to pay eir respects, or pray, or try to come to terms wi e tragedy. Likewise in Soham, Cambridgeshire, when two young girls were killed in August 2002, ere were ousands upon ousands of flower bouquets sent and e village church was full of teddy bears. More recently, in 2017, many turned to e local churches for shelter, food, comfort and prayer at e time of e Grenfell Tower fire disaster.

8 PAGE 8 These tragic events indicate at dea touches hearts in unique ways, and frequently people turn to e church almost instinctively for solace even if ey cannot begin to understand why. Princess Diana s dea in 1997 also released a flood of flowers wi hundreds of ousands signing books of condolence, as well as increased church attendance in e immediate afterma, as sometimes happens during or after great national events or calamities (as when George VI called National Days of Prayer such as for Dunkirk). Most people, wrote Professor of Philosophy, Dr Harriet Baber, are not cranked up to a high level of existential angst, but need what Churches offer in time of trouble and serious reflection. The Church once provided a common language for expressing our feelings, making sense of our lives, and for coping wi every aspect of e human condition. It was ere when we needed it. Now, our emotional language is impoverished, and we struggle to invent e means to deal wi events at mark e course of our lives. We have contrived secular rituals for commemorating public tragedies and ere is an emerging folk-religion of poetry readings, political candlevigils, and roadside teddy-bear shrines to mark e deas of children in traffic 40 accidents. Davie would suggest at e reactions to say Princess Diana s dea were simply writ-large versions of what goes on in e everyday lives of individuals and communities.... It is e taken-forgrantedness of is situation at is e crucial point: e presence of e churches and eir availability to ordinary people are simply assumed. 41 Beyond e UK Much of is article has been entirely confined to e UK. Is Nominal Religion simply an English phenomenon? Grace Davie would vehemently argue NO, and wrote a book about it, Europe, e Exceptional Case, in which she argued at while Christianity and oer religions were growing 42 roughout e rest of e world, ey were fast declining in Europe. Table 5: Reported Beliefs, Selected European Countries, 2010 Country Believe ere is a God Believe ere is some sort of spirit or life force Do not believe ere is any sort of spirit, God or life force Don t know Base (=100) Population in 2010 Millions Malta Cyprus Greece , Italy , Ireland , Portugal , Norern Ireland Spain , Germany (West) , Switzerland , Austria , Great Britain , Belgium , Finland , Iceland Denmark , The Neerlands , France , Norway , Sweden , Overall ,

9 PAGE 9 43 Alough e Table on e previous page comes from a later study an in Europe, it illustrates e essential argument at Europe collectively is moving to shun God and religion. Of e 20 European countries in e Table, four (Great Britain, France, Italy and West Germany) all have populations in excess of 60 million people, and us form almost two-irds, 64, of is group of countries. These four encapsulate e problem of Europe two have majorities which believe in God and two don t. One on each side of is twofold division is/was a nominally Roman Caolic country. Davie argues at part of e problem is e tightness of e definition of belief a tight definition produces less agreement for belief, whereas a looser definition produces more agreement. It us becomes a question of what does belief in God mean? It has little to do wi Christian teaching, and can include ings like e paranormal, fortune-telling, fate and destiny, ghosts, luck and superstition, according to Davie. What en is nominal or even notional Christianity? It seems it is largely belief in someing which has taken out e guts of what Christianity means, and erefore, some would argue, not really wor very much. 44 A quote is given from a study of e 1960s in which respondents were asked, Do you believe in a God who can change e course of events on ear? to which one respondent replied, No, just e ordinary one. Davie en asks, What is e significance of an ordinary God? and quotes from e conclusions of is study, We have some evidence at for ose people who do not go to church yet say ey are religious and pray often, religious belief has moved quite far from e orodox church position and is really much closer to what would normally be called superstition. The evidence at Grace Davie deduced for her case, at Europe alone is declining globally, has been refuted by later statistics from e World Christian Database which has shown at while Christianity roughout e world continues to grow as a percentage of e global population it only does so because of e extraordinary grow being seen in Sub-Saharan Africa, as evidenced by e first 45 volume in e new series of Edinburgh Companions to Global Christianity. A detailed analysis of e 51 countries in is part of Africa is given in UK Church Statistics, No 3, 2018 Edition. 46 Invisible Religion Meanwhile, anoer word has entered e vocabulary of notional or nominal Christianity e word invisible. This came especially rough e publishing of Dr Steve Aisorpe s research in e 47 Highlands and Islands of Scotland in his book The Invisible Church, e sub-title of which was Learning from e Experiences of Churchless Christians, where he found an extraordinarily large number of people who clearly believed in God but did not go to church. This survey of 2,700 people 48 built on e foundations of research undertaken in 2012/13. He would say as a result of his work at approximately 44 of e population of e Highlands and Islands identify emselves as Christians 49 but are not engaged wi a church congregation. His work was especially valuable in at it seemed to refute two comments often made about such people. One was at nominal or invisible Christians are ose who have only recently moved into e area where ey are now living. He found at half, 49, had lived eir whole life in e area and anoer ird, 31, for over 20 years. The oer clear conclusion was at ese people were not just ose who had casually or briefly come to church. On e contrary he found a quarter, 23, had been attending eir particular church for over 20 years, and anoer quarter, 27, had been doing so for between 10 and 20 years. So ese are not new immigrants nor ose who have not been previously committed. While Aisorpe s use of invisible in is context may have originated wi him, e concept didn t. Patrick Johnstone, editor of many editions of Operation World, was certainly familiar wi it. In e 1986 edition of his book, for example, he says at e percentage of evangelicals in e UK was 50 7, a figure which had risen to 8.5 by e 2000 edition and in e latest volume it increases to 8.8. In e 1986 edition ere is an additional comment to say at only about a ird of ese attend church a percentage which broadly agreed wi e results of e 1989 English Church Census when of e population were Evangelicals in church. Where were e oer two-irds? They were invisible. Why do people become invisible? Not necessarily newness to eir area and not indifference to e church itself. Steve Aisorpe examined is too and found e key issues were about welcome, hospitality and inclusion. Sadly, he writes, about a quarter of respondents (wi no significant

10 PAGE 10 differences on e basis of age, gender or previous experience of church) agreed wi e statement, I used to go to church but felt at I didn't fit in. The data also encourages us to ink afresh about what we mean by church. Most of ose surveyed expressed a sense of belonging to e worldwide Christian community despite not being affiliated to a congregation. 52 He suggests his survey indicates at congregations may need to rediscover e priority of discipleship. Some invisible Christians were happy to be such (31), oers wished to follow eir own spiritual quest (41), while a few (8) would welcome e opportunity to join a small group of Christians who meet in homes and discuss fai and life togeer. What is e real extent of invisibility? Johnstone focuses purely on Evangelical Christians, but ere is no reason to ink at ese are e only believers who become invisible. Evangelicals were of all churchgoers in 2005, a growing percentage (ey were 30 in 1989 ), so doubling his percentage of invisibles would seem at least an estimate of e total proportion giving e 17 mentioned on Page 6 in e section What is Religiousness? At e same e very high percentage Steve Aisorpe found from his study of one of e most remote parts of e UK, 44, needs to be modified to take account of more general environments and church congregations. Perhaps halving it would be more realistic for e general population, making e two estimates of e same order. No Religion The end of e story is not quite yet. The latest phrase at is used by many people, especially younger people, is at ey have No Religion, or, as ey are often referred to, e Nones. Successive Censuses have narrowed e question. In e 1991 Population Census in Norern Ireland, e results were published as proportions of Roman Caolics, Presbyterians, Church of Ireland, Meodists, Oer Christians and None. In 2001 e question included e five Christian alternatives and Oer Religions and No Religion/Not stated, whereas by 2011 e final two categories became separated and ose wi No Religion were measured wiout being mixed wi ose not answering e question. The detail is given in Table 6: Table 6: Religion in Norern Ireland, 1991, 2001 and 2011 Country ALL N IRELAND Percentage in each Relig n 1991 Percentage in each Religion 2001 Percentage in each Religion 2011 RC Pres CofI Me OXn None RC Pres CofI Me OXn O No R RC Pres CofI Me OXn O No R N/a Relig n = Religion; RC = Roman Caolic; Pres = Presbyterian Church of Ireland; CofI = Church of Ireland; Me = Meodist; OXn = Oer Christian; O = Oer religions; None (1991) = Oer religions, No Religion and Not stated; No R (2001) = No Religion and Not stated; N/a (2011) = Not stated Source: NINIS website from Population Censuses No Religion is erefore a relatively modern phrase, and when asked in e 2011 Population Census, 26 of e UK ticked is box (25 in England, 32 in Wales, 37 in Scotland and 10 in N Ireland). Of e 25 ticking No Religion in England, only 7 of e Black people living in England 54 did so, 11 of e Irish, but 32 of ose wi Mixed backgrounds and 56 of e Chinese. They are also much more likely to be in eir 20s an over 60 as Figure 7 shows. Figure 7: Percentage of Christians and Those wi No Religion by Age-group, 2011

11 PAGE 11 However, even is phrase does not quite mean what it seems to mean. Quoting Theos inktank research, Prof Linda Woodhead showed at, of ose who say ey have No Religion :! 44 believe in a soul, 35 in God or a higher power, but none will ever attend church! 23 believe in a soul and say ey are aeists! 34 actually believe in life after dea, and 10 at God designed e world, but still call emselves non-religious. While such statements may destroy e concept of No Religion pointing instead to a very heterogeneous grouping, it also reflects a very vibrant secularism, such as Richard Dawkins has been advocating. So what does all is say? The concept of Nominal and Notional Christianity which was perhaps first named as a concept in e 1980s e reality has been around for longer an e last 40 years. The terms were quickly applied to ose in oer religions as well as it became obvious at ere were nominal/notional Muslims, nominal/notional Hindus, nominal/notional Sikhs and so on. All religions have a group of ose who seem to be at e periphery or tail end of belief. It is belief raer an attendance which describes a nominal or notional person, a less committed or personal belief in one s religion, an unwillingness to accept all its various formularies. In Christian terms, is will mean probably not reading or even accepting e Bible, e Holy Scriptures, as e auoritative foundation for belief. Different terms have been used for is group of quasi-believers including looking at wheer people are Religious or Spiritual (or bo), wheer people can believe wiout belonging, are part of e invisible church or just simply have No Religion. But even ose in is last category have religious beliefs, conventional or unconventional. How do we reach people who are nominal Christians was e question e Lausanne movement asked back in 1980 and is re-asking today? The answers are much e same now as en, and much e same as seeking to reach anyone wi e good news of Jesus Christ explaining e forgiveness He has to offer rough His dea by repentance of sins and re-bir by e power of e Holy Spirit, wheer at be presented in traditional church, Fresh Expressions, Messy Church, in reaching courses such as Alpha and Christianity Explored or in mega events such as J John s football stadium outreach. Notes 1) Religious Trends No 1, 1998/1999, edited by Peter Brierley, Christian Research, London, 1997, Table ) UK Church Statistics No 3, 2018, edited Peter Brierley, ADBC Publishers, Tonbridge, Kent, UK, 2017, Tables 2.8 and respectively. rd 3) YouGov Report Poll finds majority Christian in name but not in practice in Church Times, 23 September, ) Article Happy Birday, King James, by Getin Russell-Jones, The Plain Tru, Autumn 2011, Pages ) Paper Living wi Implicit Religion at e 2007 Denton Conference by Canon Prof Edward Bailey. 6) Article Reconverted complain at God did not help, by Ed Thornton in e Church Times, London, 20 May, ) The Future of Christianity, Prof David Martin, Ashgate Publishing, Aldershot, ) The Dea of Christian Britain, Callum Brown, Routledge, London, 2001, Page 8. 9) European Churches Handbook, Part 1 (Denmark, Finland, France, French-speaking Switzerland, Norway and e UK) and Part 2 (Austria, Neerlands, N Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Spain), published by MARC Europe, Bromley, Kent in 1991 and 1992 respectively, based on e publication of individual church handbooks for each of ese countries. The ird volume was never published. 10) Op cit., Religious Trends No 1, Footnote 1, Table ) Article in FutureFirst, Brierley Consultancy, Tonbridge, Kent, October 2012, Page 6. 12) Secularisation, Prof Steve Bruce, OUP, 2011, Page ) Ibid., Page ) Article Spirituality as Privatized Experience-Oriented Religion by Heinz Streib and Ralph Wood, in Implicit Religion Vol 14 No 4, 2011, Page ) Summary report of Christianity and e University Experience, 18 February ) Ibid. 17) Op Cit., Secularisation, Footnote 12, Page 114.

12 PAGE 12 18) Article Professional s Calling: mental healcare Staff s Attitudes to Spiritual Care, by M Parkes and P Gilbert, Implicit Religion, Vol 14, No 1, 2011, Equinox Publishing, Sheffield, Pages ) Predicting Religion, Christian, Secular and Alternative Futures, edited by Grace Davie, Paul Heelas and Linda Woodhead, Ashgate, Hampshire, 2003, Page ) Recognised officially as a religion by e Home Office on 10 December 1996, replacing its previous cult status. 21) This definition was used for years in determining which organisations should be listed in e UK Christian Handbook, 2007/2008, Christian Research et al, edited by Heaer Wraight, 2006, Page 4. 22) Staning for e Healy, Happy, Holy Organisation made up of teachers and followers vof Kundalini Yoga, as taught by Yogi Bajan. It came to e UK in early 1970, 23) A more detailed list can be found in Religious Trends No 7, 2007/2008, Christian Research, 2008, Pages 106 and ) Article Fuzzy fidelity: reat or opportunity? by Prof David Voas, Brierley Consultancy, London, FutureFirst, Vol 1, No 6, 2009,Pages 1,6 and also his article The Rise and Fall of Fuzzy Fidelity in Europe, European Sociological Review, Vol 25, No 2, ) Unpublished paper given by Rev Dr Philip Hughes at e Six International Researchers Conference, Brazil, April ) Article in The Tablet, December ) Religion in Britain since 1945, Believing wiout Belonging, Institute of Contemporary British History, Grace Davie, Blackwell, Oxford, ) Church membership in 1920 in e UK was 37.0 million in 1920 and rose to 40.1 million by 1950, figures from Religious Trends No 2, 2000/2001, Christian Research, Elam, London, 2001, Table ) The Spiritual Revolution, Why religion is giving way to spirituality, Prof (in Religion a nd Modernity) Paul Heelas and Dr Linda Woodhead, Dept of Religious Studies, University of Lancaster, Blackwell Publishing, Religion and Spirituality in e Modern World, ) Op cit., see Predicting Religion, Footnote ) Secular Lives, Sacred Hearts, The role of e Church in a time of no religion, Canon Alan Billings, SPCK, ) Religion in Britain, A Persistent Paradox, Wiley Blackwell, Chicheseter, West Sussex, ) Website of The Economist, story Setting e Thames on fire 20 February, 2015, Page 2. 34) Capital Grow, What e 2012 London Church Census reveals, Dr Peter Brierley, ADBC Publishers, Tonbridge, Kent, ) Op cit., Footnote 33, The Economist. 36) Ibid., Page 7. nd 37) Church Times, 22 /29 December 2017 issue, Page 7. 38) Op cit., Religion in Britain, Footnote 27, Page 6, but based on Religion in Modern Europe: A Memory Mutates, Prof Grace Davie, OUP, ) Ibid., Page 6. 40) Article The end of a take-it-or-leave-it fai by H Baber in e Church Times, London, 30 September, ) Op Cit., Religion in Britain, Footnote 27, Page 7. 42) Europe, e Exceptional Case, Prof Grace Davie, Darton, Longman and Todd, London, ) The Eurobarometer 73,1, Jan/Feb 2010, European Commission, 2012, given in op cit., Religion in Britain, Footnote 26, Page ) Article by Nicholas Abercrombie et al, Superstition and Religion in A Sociological Yearbook of Religion in Britain 3, edited by David Martin, SCM Press, ) Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa, Edinburgh Companions to Global Christianity, edited by Kenne R Ross, J Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu and Todd Johnson, Edinburgh University Press, ) Op cit., UK Church Statistics No 3, Footnote 2, Pages 15.1 to ) The Invisible Church, Learning from e Experiences of Churchless Christians, Dr Steve Aisorpe, Church of Scotland, ) 49) Statistically, we can be 95 confident at e true proportion of all who fit our criteria is in e range to (at is, c.127,600 to 139,000). 50) Operation World, 7 Edition, The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation, Jason Mandryk, WEC International and Biblical, 2010, Page ) Religious Trends No 6, 2006/2007, Christian Research, Elam, London, 2006, Table 5.15 as a percentage of e population. 52) Article by Steve Aisorpe in FutureFirst, Brierley Consultancy, October 2014, Page 1. 53) Op cit., Religious Trends No 6, Footnote 51, Table ) UK Church Statistics No 2, , edited Dr Peter Brierley, ADBC Publishers, Tonbridge, Kent, UK, 2014, Table Dr Peter Brierley Brierley Consultancy 25 January 2018 [7,400 words]