Evangelicals in the U.K.

Published for Sherry:

Evangelicals make up 40% of the UK's church-goers and the majority of Anglican church-goers. 72% of Britains consider themselves Christian but the vast majority don't attend church. The majority of UK Christians are nominally Anglican but only 10% of Anglican are in Anglican services on Sunday. And the majority of those who are, belong to the evangelical wing.

White evangelical churches have been heavily influenced by the Alpha course which began in a charismatic Anglican church in London: Holy Trinity Brompton.Black evangelical churches are fueled by heavy African immigration (nearly 1/3 of the 160,000 new British citizens in 2005 were from Africa).

Both groups are intensely evangelistic and tend to be charismatic/Pentecostal in their spirituality. Living British Christianity is losing its stiff upper lip and can no longer be described as the "Tory party at prayer". And disputes have broken out on campus with regard to evangelical student groups :"At Exeter University in southwest England, the student guild suspended an evangelical group and had its bank account frozen because it was asking all its members to sign a statement of belief in Jesus as savior. Conservative Christians have challenged the legality of that decision under the Human Rights Act, which bars public bodies from violating a person's freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The High Court is expected to hear the case soon.

"Two questions:What happens when a secularized society that presumed the death or complete privitization of Christianity, finds that Christianity is resurgent in a new, more vibrant, and more evangelizing form?What about UK Catholics? They weren't mentioned in the article. How do they fit into all this?