Attending theService of Nine LessonsandCarolsat a Rural Cathedral: an Empirical Study in Religious Orientation and Motivational Style

This study explores the religious orientation and motivation of people who attended the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols at Worcester Cathedral in December 2009 in order to assess the distinctive pastoral opportunities provided by such services within a rural diocese. Religious motivation was assessed by the New Indices of Religious Orientation, which distinguish between intrinsic, extrinsic and quest orientations. Older people were seen to score more highly on the intrinsic scale and increased frequency of churchgoing was positively associated with scores on both the intrinsic and quest scales. The Carol Service congregation was seen to favour quest orientation above the other two. Compared with its Sunday counterparts, intrinsic religiosity was much lower here and was focused on integrating faith and life rather than on personal prayer. Conclusions are drawn for cathedrals and others wishing to reach out to those with a quest orientation and further research is suggested to extend the study to the parish church setting.