When Geraldine Granger became the female vicar of television's fictional Dibley, her congregation greeted her arrival with a combination of surprise and fury.
Within 20 years, however, most villagers in England will be more surprised if their new vicar is not a woman.
According to a report due for release this autumn, there will be as many female priests as male by 2025. The study, entitled Religious Trends, concludes that without the rapid growth in the number of women being ordained - as many women will be becoming priests as men by the end of the decade - some parishes would be forced to close....
