I couldn't agree more wiith Graham about the problem of averaging out
diocesan figures for an area like Chelmsford which stretches from the
diversity of Stratford E15 to the marshes between Frinton and Harwich..
Clearly any CofE attendance figures (seasonal or otherwise) for any
multifaith diocese like London, Southwark, Birmingham or even Blackburn need
to be set against many other demographic and social variables before any
really meaningful patterns emerge. Meaningful that is beyond the CofE's
quest for performance management indicators...
Incidentally David Voas and I are currently part of a team working on some
of these issues of diiversity as measured by census 2001 and other
statistics in a JRF funded project. Theres some fascinating stuff and a lot
of frustration about the data we would like to have but which just isn't
there... But you will all have to wait at least a year before we have a
report published.
Anyway Happy Christmas (celebrated no doubt in the church of your choice...
or of course not, if you are from some other faith or none in which case
I'll just offer you seasonal goodwill!)
Greg Smith
(Senior Research Fellow at Centre for Institutional Studies in UEL)
http://homepages.uel.ac.uk/G.Smith/
34 Broadgate
PRESTON
Lancs. PR1 8DU
Phone no. 01772 827987
diocese)
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