Church Statistics

Church Attendance in the UK: Statistics 2024

Weekly churchgoing in Britain has fallen to 9%, while almost half the population now reports no religion at all. Here are the sourced numbers on attendance, belonging, and the Church of England.

Pray FocusMarijan DivkovicSeptember 7, 20267 min read

In short

Church attendance in the UK is low and still falling. In 2024, only 9% of Britons said they attend a religious service weekly or more, down from 12% in 2018, according to the British Social Attitudes survey. Two thirds (66%) never attend, while 14% attend monthly or more. Belonging has fallen even faster: 49% of British adults now say they have no religion at all. The Church of England reports an average Sunday attendance of about 581,000, roughly a third of the level recorded in 1968.

  • Only 9% of Britons attend a religious service weekly or more in 2024, down from 12% in 2018 (British Social Attitudes / NatCen).
  • 49% of British adults say they have no religion in 2024 (British Social Attitudes / NatCen).
  • 66% of Britons never attend religious services, while 14% attend monthly or more (British Social Attitudes / NatCen).
  • Church of England average Sunday attendance was about 581,000, roughly a third of the 1968 level (Church of England).

Church attendance in the UK has been in long decline, and the most recent figures confirm the trend has not stopped. In 2024, only 9% of Britons said they attend a religious service weekly or more, down from 12% in 2018, according to the British Social Attitudes survey run by NatCen. At the same time, 49% of British adults now say they have no religion at all. Two thirds of the population never attend a religious service. The Church of England, the established church, reports an average Sunday attendance of about 581,000, roughly a third of the level it recorded in 1968. The figures below draw on the British Social Attitudes survey and the Church of England statistics, the most authoritative sources on church attendance in the UK.

9%

attend a religious service weekly or more (2024)

49%

of British adults say they have no religion

66%

never attend religious services

581,000

average Sunday attendance, Church of England

Key findings at a glance

MetricValueYearSource
Attend a service weekly or more9%2024British Social Attitudes / NatCen
Attended weekly or more (earlier reading)12%2018British Social Attitudes / NatCen
Say they have no religion49%2024British Social Attitudes / NatCen
Never attend religious services66%2024British Social Attitudes / NatCen
Attend monthly or more14%2024British Social Attitudes / NatCen
Church of England average Sunday attendance581,0002024Church of England
Every figure below is traceable to the primary source that reports it, with its data year. The British Social Attitudes figures are survey estimates; the Church of England figures are counts reported by parishes.

How few Britons attend church weekly

Weekly churchgoing is now a minority practice in Britain. The British Social Attitudes survey, one of the longest-running measures of public attitudes in the country, shows regular attendance falling and the share who never attend growing.

9%
2024

In 2024, only 9% of Britons said they attend a religious service weekly or more, down from 12% in 2018, according to the British Social Attitudes survey.

66%
2024

In 2024, 66% of Britons said they never attend religious services, according to the British Social Attitudes survey.

StatisticValueYearSource
Attend weekly or more9%2024British Social Attitudes / NatCen
Attend weekly or more12%2018British Social Attitudes / NatCen
Attend monthly or more14%2024British Social Attitudes / NatCen
Never attend religious services66%2024British Social Attitudes / NatCen
Weekly attendance fell from 12% in 2018 to 9% in 2024. Two thirds of the population now never attend a religious service, and only about one in seven attend monthly or more.

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The rise of no religion

Behind the fall in attendance sits an even sharper fall in belonging. A growing share of British adults do not identify with any religion at all, a group that has expanded steadily over recent decades.

49%
2024

In 2024, 49% of British adults said they have no religion, according to the British Social Attitudes survey.

StatisticValueYearSource
Say they have no religion49%2024British Social Attitudes / NatCen
Never attend religious services66%2024British Social Attitudes / NatCen
Attend monthly or more14%2024British Social Attitudes / NatCen
Almost half of British adults now report no religion. This is a measure of identity, which is why it runs ahead of the share who never attend a service.

The Church of England in numbers

The Church of England is the established church of England and the largest Christian denomination in the country. Its own statistics for mission track weekly and Sunday attendance across its parishes, and they show a long decline.

581,000
2024

Church of England average Sunday attendance was about 581,000, roughly a third of the level recorded in 1968, according to the Church of England.

StatisticValueYearSource
Average Sunday attendance581,0002024Church of England
Share of the 1968 attendance levelabout one third2024Church of England
Average Sunday attendance in the Church of England has fallen to roughly a third of its 1968 level, mirroring the broader decline in churchgoing across the UK.

How we compiled these statistics

Every number on this page is traceable to a primary source and dated to the year the data were collected. The figures on how often Britons attend services and whether they identify with a religion come from the British Social Attitudes survey run by NatCen, one of the longest-running and most authoritative measures of public attitudes in Britain. The Church of England average Sunday attendance figure comes from the Church of England statistics for mission, which are counts reported by parishes rather than survey estimates. Where data years differ, we use the most recent published year and label it.

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Sources

  1. British Social Attitudes / NatCen
  2. Church of England, statistics for mission

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