Some findings from the National Church Life Survey

Over four hundred thousand churchgoing Australians completed National Church Life Survey (NCLS) questionnaires regarding the nature of faith and church life in Australia in May 2001. These people came from more than 7,000 churches and 19 denominations across the country. Catholics were included for the first time, although they had participated in the separate but parallel Catholic Church Life Survey in 1996, when the previous NCLS had been held. The enormous amount of data about Australian church attenders collected in the survey makes any extended discussion of even the most basic findings impossible in this short article. Below are just a few highlights and comparisons with some brief reflection on the future life of the churches.

1. Sex and Birthplace

Of those in the pews on the day of the survey, more than six out of ten were women - this was true of Catholic and Protestant pews alike. Overall, 3 in every 4 respondents had been born in Australia, although ethnic diversity was somewhat greater in Catholic parishes where 67% were Australian born and 26% had been born in a non-English speaking country. Italy and the Philippines were highly represented, accounting for 4% and 5% of Catholic attenders respectively.

2. Attendance, Worship Experience and Belonging

Marginally, more Catholic attenders said they attended church at least once a week (87% compared with 84% of Anglican and Protestant attenders), but Catholics were a little less likely than people of other denominations to be regular attenders at the parish where they completed the survey (78% Catholics; 83% of Anglican & Protestant attenders). In other words, Catholic attenders were more likely than attenders at congregations of other denominations to be visitors in the parish on the day of the survey (7% in Catholic parishes, 3% in other congregations).

Three-quarters of respondents said that in church services they usually or always experience a sense of God's presence, while among Catholics, almost the same proportion reported a sense of fulfilling their obligation, much higher than for attenders of other denominations. This is not surprising given the Catholic teaching that all Catholics are obliged to attend Sunday Mass. On the other hand, non-Catholic attenders were more likely to experience growth in understanding of God, joy, inspiration and spontaneity in church services.

The experience of belonging at one's parish or congregation was quite high - 79% of Anglican and Protestant attenders said that this was either strong and growing or strong and stable. This figure was quite a bit less for those attending Catholic parishes (68%). Only 3% of all attenders said that they did not feel that they belonged to their congregation or parish and wished they did, although almost one in ten said that their sense of belonging was declining. One interesting difference between Catholics and all attenders was the greater proportion of Catholics saying they were happy to be on the fringe of parish life (11% compared with 4%). This finding may reflect the fact that some Catholics see attendance at Mass as the only form of participation they wish to have in the parish, either because this is all they are looking for in the way of spiritual nourishment or because they simply want to fulfil the sense of obligation they feel.

3. The Future - Innovation and Future Directions

Innovation and future directions were a focus for a good proportion of attenders. For instance around 60% of all church attenders agreed or strongly agreed that their parish or congregation was always ready to try something new. Catholics were slightly less likely to disagree with this statement (8% compared to 11% of Anglican and Protestant attenders).

On the whole, Church attenders appear to be forward-looking, emphasising the need for planning with a focus on new directions. For 39% of Catholics and 61% of Anglican and Protestant attenders, new directions were either currently being decided or implemented. By contrast, only a minority of attenders felt that their parish or congregation needed to go back to the way things were done in the past. The emphasis on forward thinking is a positive sign of church vitality and the desire to adapt and remain relevant within Australian society.

Sharon Bond and Bob Dixon,
National Church Life Survey