SOME weeks ago a unique survey was launched to identify why church-going is declining in Britain and Ireland.

The response to this survey has been phenomenal. Because of this it seems worthwhile to provide this update and repeat the questionnaire.

Church attendance has been in decline in the mainstream denominations since the 1960s making Britain and Ireland different from most of the rest of the world where attendances have been steadily growing.

No real answer has been found to explain this peculiar difference. For example, the idea that church-going declines when scientific knowledge increases has been made invalid by American statistics. The US is the most scientific nation on earth, and yet in some States almost 50 per cent of the population attend church regularly (science and religious belief are seen as compatible, hence the high numbers of scientists involved with NASA who are also church-goers).

The suggestion that decline is the result of growing wealth, has also been disproven because America is the richest country in the world.

Until recently, the Church was an integral part of British and Irish culture. The purpose of this survey is to discover what lies behind this change by inviting the public to give its answers to the following.

1. If you attend a church regularly what are the main things which encourage you to attend? If your attendance is merely out of a sense of duty, what could be changed so as to make it more appealing?

2. If you were a church-goer but now attend infrequently or not at all, what were the main things which led to this decline? What could be changed in order for you to attend regularly?

3. If you've never been a church-goer what things would encourage you to begin?

4. The traditional custom of clergy visiting has steadily declined. Although a combination of factors will have led to dwindling congregations, do you think the demise of this customary role is significant?

Please send your views to this address, marking your envelope Church Survey UK. A summary of the study will be publicised next year.

THE REV J WILLANS

Surrey, RH2 8PD