Dear Paul Thank you very much indeed for your kind words. I shall continue to pursue my own personal research…
Thank you for all your hard work on this important service which will be greatly missed, but all the best…
Thank you for your diligence in unearthing broken links on the site. Regarding religious profession of prisoners, there were surveys…
1) FYI. There is an incorrect link to a spreadsheet on the page here: https://www.brin.ac.uk/figures/belief-in-britain-1939-2009/conventional-belief/belief-in-god-divinity-of-christ-and-the-resurrection/. The spreadsheet is for "Belief…
Dear Colin I am sorry that you have experienced difficulties in getting data from the site. Please go to www.brin.ac.uk/figures/churches-and-churchgoers/…
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2 responses to “Christian Attitudes to Poverty”
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There seems to be a political difference here, with the clergy more left wing than others. In terms of church life, maybe there are generational issues; elderly churchgoers who may have experienced some deprivation in their youth may not see people who have access to big TVs, clean clothes, warm homes, etc. as being truly poor – even if there’s a poverty of aspiration in those homes. Maybe they feel that with all the state support now available for unemployed or underemployed people it’s more appropriate to talk about dependency or disaffection rather than poverty as such.
The problem with talking about poverty as a structural thing is that the ordinary person can feel helpless to do much about it. We can change the way we live our lives, spend our money, raise our children, but we really can’t change the tax or banking system. We can’t prevent footballers earning milllions of pounds. Many people now have very little faith that politicians can or will do much about these issues, so perhaps the most meaningful option for individuals is to focus on self-help, or to work towards changing attitudes in their local communities, rather than expecting ‘injustice’ or income equality to be abolished by the authorities.
The perceived decline in public civility and personal security has probably also made people less tolerant of ‘the poor’. Sadly, disaffected people often target their own communities – they don’t necessarily go and cause trouble for the rich! People may feel that that disadvantaged communities once stuck together and respected each other – that’s less true today. I suppose it’s harder to feel supportive of people if there’s no trust between you.
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