In the spirit of honesty and candour that Julian Baggini has recently enjoined on all parties in his Heathen's progress, I feel it is incumbent on me to admit the following: the latest instalment of the annual British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey reads like a nightmare for anyone (like me) who is concerned about the future of the Church of England. Chapter 12 of BSA 28, published last week, feels more like an Anglican epitaph than a chapter of social analysis.
The research is, in fact, an update of the more substantial treatment of religion published by BSA two years ago and the theme is a similar one. Since 1983, the number of people self-affiliating to the Church of England has halved, most going off to the no-religion camp, which has increased from 31% to 50%.
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