Parish churches are struggling to retain their flagging congregations as the number of people engaging with organised religion shows little sign of revival.
Figures released by the Church of England including services across the Westcountry painted a flat picture of attendance, with small increases in parts of the region matched by decline elsewhere.
The Bishop of Exeter, the Right Rev Michael Langrish, welcomed "gentle growth" in the number of people worshipping at Devon churches, up by 2,200 in three years.
But the Bishop of Truro, the Right Rev Tim Thornton, promised to examine his "diocesan strategy" after figures for Cornwall showed a 1,500 drop in worshippers over the same period from 2008-2011.
The latest figures revealed fewer than 40,000 people went to church in 2011 across both counties, including 12,300 people in the Duchy – just 2% of the total population. But figures for Devon offered a glimmer of hope with a steady increase in total worshippers and a rapid rise in the number of youngsters at church – up 26% in three years.
Bishop Michael said: "We are encouraged by the latest figures which show that there has been gentle growth in the number of people worshipping in our churches. "Particularly heartening is the fact that the numbers of children and young people in our churches are growing too."
The Cornwall figures showed Christmas Day services were almost three times more popular than the rest of the year in 2011 and Easter Day services up 64%. Bishop Tim said: "It is very helpful to have the figures, which will inform our diocesan strategy to discover God's kingdom and grow the church."
But the Devon Humanist Society branded the figures as "bad news".
Chairman Keith Denby said: "A steeply falling curve tends to flatten out at the bottom showing a tiny variant in attendances after many, many years of decline. People are welcome to attend church services, but we feel the Church of England should release its damaging and dangerous grip on society through parliamentary legislation and education in schools."
The nationwide figures showed higher numbers of Christmas Day churchgoers, but shrinking congregations during the rest of the year.
The Rev Andrew Gough, of St Ives Parish Church, suggested the church may need more "up-to-date" methods to reach people, including social networking.
"The Church of England is a plodding church with small increases in different ways over time," he said.
"The success of the church is not about getting bums on seats, but about how its members communicate the Gospel message to people outside."
"Perhaps if some churches actively did more in society, they would start to see new people coming into their buildings.
"But if parishes just sit still and do nothing, they will die."
