Women abandon the churches in England .

Churches in England have lost about 50,000 women every year from their congregations since 1989, according to a Derby-based sociologist.

Dr Kristin Aune, from the University of Derby, said many young women were put off by the traditional values. She said television programmes promoting female empowerment also discouraged women from going to church. She is the co-author of Women and Religion in the West.

Dr Aune, said: "Young women tend to express egalitarian values and dislike the traditionalism and hierarchies they imagine are integral to the church."

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