Sir, I wonder what is your evidence for claiming that more people were shopping online than attended Anglican Church services over Christmas (report, Dec 26).

You said there were 3.5 million online-shopping, compared to only 2.7 million in Church. I have no reason to doubt your online number, but I don’t know how you estimated the number of Anglican churchgoers without contacting every Church of England Church in the land. I suspect your estimate of churchgoers is far too low.

In one of the small churches in which I serve (in Kingston Seymour, Somerset, population fewer than 400) we had 300 people at the Crib Service on Christmas Eve, nearly 50 per cent up on last year, and other services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day also showed increases. I have no reason to suspect that Kingston Seymour Church is atypical.

The Rev Preb John Andrews

Diocesan Communications Officer,

Diocese of Bath and Wells

Sir, Your front page statistics left a lot to be desired on Boxing Day. Since when has the Church of England been the only guidepost of Church attendance over Christmas? Have you not forgotten the Roman Catholic Church, Methodist,

Baptist, United Reformed and

many others?

I think if these statistics had been available the figure would be well above those stated for internet shopping. But then your argument would have been lost.

Christopher Cheeseman

Superintendent Methodist Minister

South Fylde, Lancs

Sir, I was one of the 2.7 million who attended Anglican services over the Christmas season. I also joined the 3.5 million who made internet purchases over the same period.

Ged Ackerley

Telford, Shrops

Sir, The 3.5 million who shopped online on Christmas Day represent some 7 per cent of the UK adult population. That leaves a mere 93 percent (over 45 million adults) who did not shop online — fully a decade after the media heralded the first internet shopping “boom”.

A nation online? By whose arithmetic?

Winston Fletcher

London SW7

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