29 April 2008

Participation in blogging, and church

Bishop Alan’s Blog: How do people use Church (or not)?:
The categories are made up around what you do online. Spectators read blogs, Critics Comment on blogs, Creators originate blogs. Joiners use Facebook et al. You get the idea. An individual can be on several rungs at the same time. Proportions on each rung are vastly different in different cultures. In the US, 25% are creators — in Europe only 10%. 53% of Europeans are inactives, 41% of Americans, only 37% of South Koreans.

OK Team. This method has absolutely no tested validity at all in the field of religious participation, but let's sketch on the back of an envelope. If patterns of church involvement were similar, and for all I know they are, In the UK roughly 70% = 35m people say they are Christians. Most actives would be, er 10% = 3,5m weekly participants. Anglicans would be just under 1m bums on pews a week. Inactives would be 53% = 26,5m. They are.

What do you think the proportions are in your neck of the woods?


Alice said...

I dunno (I don't go to a church), but this analysis could be used for most of the rest of life too, couldn't it? What first springs to mind is participation in doing the work of my housing co-op (which we are all supposed to share), but couldn't we could also use it to look at group conversations and interactions in many different situations?

I might have a think about categorising people I work with when I'm at work tomorrow...

Yvonne said...

I posted a comment at Bishop Alan's blog, mainly asking what exactly do the 75% who say they are Christian mean by it? I bet if you asked them to sign up to the Nicene Creed, they would disagree with half of it.

I go to a Unitarian chapel, and am a member of the Unitarians as well as a Wiccan, but I'm not a Christian.


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