Congregational Statistics

Church-level membership and participation – 2025

Admissions and Removals within the Church of Scotland, 2025

The membership statistics may be stated thus:

Definitions

*Admissions by profession: The formal process in the Church of Scotland by which a person becomes a communicant member through a public declaration of faith. This typically involves affirming Christian belief before the congregation, rather than transferring from another church or being admitted solely by baptism.

*Removals by certificate: the formal transfer of a member from one congregation to another by means of an official certificate. This document confirms the person's membership and good standing, allowing them to be received into a new parish without undergoing admission again.

*Additions by certificate: In the Church of Scotland, the reception of a new member into a congregation on the basis of an official certificate of transfer from another church or parish. The certificate confirms the person's existing membership and good standing, so they are added to the roll without making a new profession of faith.

Young People and Adults not on the Communion Roll

Data reported from all thirteen Presbyteries showed that as at 31 December 2025:

1. The number of children and young people aged 17 years and under who are involved in the life of the congregation was 23,485.

2. The number of adults whose names are not on the Communion Roll, but who are involved in the life of the congregations was 10,850.

3. The number of children who receive Holy Communion in terms of Act V, 2000, Section 15 was 2,165, 9% of the total.

Occasional Offices

Church of Scotland congregations:

• Baptised 1,300 people, of whom 330 were adults, 2.9% of Scottish births in 2025.
• Celebrated 860 marriages (3.2% of all Scottish weddings), and
• Conducted 9,565 funerals (15.5% of those who died in Scotland).

Comparative Graphs

A note on the data

We extend our thanks to presbytery clerks and congregations for their diligence and strenuous efforts in obtaining this year's statistics and transmitting them to the national office, enabling this collection to happen.

The data above are whole-church level figures of the major pieces of data. A full report will be available once all of the checks and processing have been done. This will be made available to presbyteries and will be submitted as part of the materials for General Assembly 2027.

Data collection from December 2026 onwards will be through the new civiCRM system, which will allow for much more efficient entering and checking of data.