Looking for light in dark times

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By Marie Jackson BBC News

"Lord God, we live in disturbing days: across the world prices rise, debts increase, banks collapse, jobs are taken away, and fragile security is under threat."

This is the opening to a "prayer for the current financial situation" which the Church of England published online six months ago.

Well over 40,000 people have so far clicked onto it - could its popularity be a sign of a nation turning to God in these troubled times?

For decades, church-going in the UK has been declining. Secularisation, World War II, women's liberation and hedonism have, at some time, all been cited for the decline. They are less willing to trust in savings, earning potential and deposits and are looking for something of more significance Curate Revd Simon Butler, St Giles Church, Nottingham

Latest figures released last month suggest that about 1.2 million people in the UK attended CofE churches each week in 2007. In 1968 that figure exceeded 1.6 million, and it has been falling ever since.

Ministers have tried all sorts of initiatives to reverse the trend - offering chocolate bars to tempt back their 'flock', advertising at football matches and even creating a virtual church, complete with 3-D animated vicar.

Last Easter, the Bishop of Lichfield spoke of more people having faith in the resurrection of Christ than the stock market.

The Right Reverend Jonathan Gledhill said Britain was no longer as secular as it once was and financial problems had prompted people to rediscover their faith.

There is no statistical evidence available yet - the latest figures are from 2007 before the economic downturn started putting people out of work and out of their homes.

But anecdotal evidence is starting to paint a picture that suggests some people may be turning to religion.

Financial collapse

Reverend Simon Butler, curate of St Giles Church in West Bridgford, Nottingham, sees between five and 10 new faces every Sunday.

"It's difficult to know why people are turning up. My guess is the financial collapse and uncertainty that has led people to question where their trust is put. They start asking questions like 'What is their life for? What are they here for?' Aaron Tsui, Christian investment banker

"They are less willing to trust in savings, earning potential and deposits and are looking for something of more significance," he said.

St Peter's Barge, which bills itself as London's only floating church, has seen a three-fold increase in the number of people attending courses exploring Christianity.

It serves Canary Wharf workers, many of whom are in the banking world, a sector battered by successive rounds of job cuts.

Nearby at St Paul's Church in Shadwell, sandwiched between the City and Canary Wharf, the subject of Sunday night's service is greed.

For the bankers among the congregation, it is particularly pertinent as they wrestle with the debate over huge bonuses at the same time as worrying about their own job security.

Aaron Tsui, 27, works for US bank Citigroup where thousands of people have been made redundant.

He says he has detected a change in his colleagues since the economic crisis hit.The Bishop of Worcester accepted prayer requests from the unemployed

"It's a macho world and they all put on a brave face, but you can tell they are worried.

"They start asking questions like 'What is their life for? What are they here for?' It's not necessarily about religion, they are looking for some kind of comfort."

As a Christian, he sees the current climate as creating a big window for him to talk to others about his faith.

"The fact that the economy is going pear-shaped does make people think a lot about religion," he added.

London bombings

The Reverend Lynda Barley, head of research for the Church of England, suggests social and economic factors can affect church-going numbers.

She cited a biennial survey looking at national attitudes towards church and religion.

The results for October 2005, just months after the devastating London bomb attacks, showed a rise in the number of people attending church - a "statistical blip" she puts down to the timing of the survey. There's now two to three generations of people who have never been near a church except for a wedding or funeral - it's highly unlikely they would start turning towards god Terry Sanderson, National Secular Society president

Until the official statistics are published for 2008 and this year, it will be difficult to say with any certainty what effect the recession is having.

The Church of England is not drawing any direct links between church attendance and the economy.

But a CofE spokesman did say the downturn may be challenging people to ask questions about where they place their trust.

The National Secular Society says any talk of increasing interest in religion is "opportunism at work".

The society's president, Terry Sanderson, said: "There's now two to three generations of people who have never been near a church except for a wedding or funeral. It's highly unlikely they would start turning towards God.

"We have had recessions before and we have never seen an upturn in church attendance."

'Overflowing mosques'

Other faiths say they have seen little evidence of the downturn affecting attendance.

The Muslim Council of Britain said no research had been carried out on any links.

Spokesman Inayat Bunglawala said mosques were "overflowing", but this was mainly being driven by immigration and growing families.

A Federation of Synagogues spokeswoman said: "Our gut feeling is the recession is having no effect on levels of attendance."

Where faiths are in agreement is on doing what they can to help those in need whether it is bishops praying for the jobless in the Midlands or Liberal Judaism rabbis contributing 1% of their salary to people in financial straits.