The Church of England is seen as a 'national church', and such a view is underpinned by its established status. Statistics of change are often quoted with reference to the Church of England as a whole, and can thus suggest that what has been happening in the past and what is currently happening, is the common experience throughout the country. Such an approach disguises very real differences between the dioceses.
This dissertation examines the reasonableness of considering the Church of England as 43 'diocesan churches', and not as one 'national church'. This is achieved through an examination of the changing face of the Church of England in the light of the statistical data published on a diocese-by-diocese basis by the Church of England from the mid 1950s to the year 2000. The examination of the dioceses is undertaken in three stages. First, the changes from the period of the late 1950s and early 1960s to the year 2000 are calculated and reviewed. Second, the dioceses are divided into three groups, rural, mixed, and urban, in order to ascertain whether the grouped dioceses have shared similar experiences. Finally, the dioceses are considered in terms of ratios of full-time stipendiary parochial clergy to key indicators of church vitality in order to identify changes in the working environment of the full-time stipendiary parochial clergy in individual dioceses.
In general the picture is one of decline, although there are areas of growth; this is not news. However there is great diversity of experience between dioceses in respect of decline and growth, and this diversity in experience supports the view that it is not only valid, but necessary, to direct more time and resources at researching the dioceses as separate entities, and thus the Church of England as 43 'diocesan churches'.