The Parish Church of St John-at-Hampstead

1/12/2018

Why do people visit churches?

The data is shown in a new ComRes opinion poll carried out in September 2018 for the National Churches Trust.

24 percent said they had visited a church building, chapel, or meeting house to attend a life event, such as a wedding, funeral or baptism,
22 percent had visited for tourism
11 percent for religious activity such as Mass, a worship service or prayer.
8 percent said they had visited to find a quiet space to escape the hustle and bustle or to light a candle.
Wales and the South West of England had the highest percentage of people visiting a church, both at 56 percent, with the West Midlands (38 percent) and Scotland (36 percent) the lowest percentages.
Almost a quarter of British people said they would be more inclined to visit a church as a leisure activity or tourist attraction if there were better visitor friendly facilities such as accessible toilets, a café or nearby parking (23 percent) with 20 percent saying that cultural events including concerts or exhibitions would attract them.
 
19 percent said they would be more inclined to visit if they knew in advance that the building was open. 
12 percent said that an onsite welcome and a guided tour would be a draw.
 

From the National Churches website