ABSTRACT
In all three countries there were enormous variations in the level of church-going. In England, the ratio of total reported attendances to population varied from 16 per cent in the Longtown Registration District (Cumberland) to 116 per cent in St Ives (Hunts.). In Wales it was from 36 per cent in Knighton (Radnor) to 121 per cent in Aberystwyth (Cardigan). In Scotland, it was 14 per cent in rural areas of Selkirkshire, but 132 per cent in Dingwall (Ross). In all three countries the lowest attendances were in rural border regions. Although attendances were substantially higher in Wales than in England, the basic patterns of attendance were similar, and in two important respects different from the Scottish. First, regional differences in the level of attendance were more sharply defined in the former countries, and were reflected both in town and country. Second, attendances were higher on average in rural than in urban areas, whereas in Scotland the reverse was true. English and Welsh districts with very high levels of attendance were predominantly agricultural, though they included some areas of industrial villages and small towns; very high attendances were rare in towns of over 12,000 people (McLeod, 1973).
