Call for churches to reflect diversity of UK

'The report shows that the closure of churches has disproportionately affected low-income marginalised communities over the last ten years.'

Churches are often seen as ‘white, middle-class spaces’, a new report has shown, underlining that to reach more people, they need to reflect ‘the diversity of the UK’. This includes appealing to more working-class people, communities facing racial injustice, people with disabilities, LBGT+ communities, and more.

The report is part of the Church On The Margins work launched by Church Action on Poverty in 2020. It mirrors wider conversations within Quakerism about diversity and how to reach a more representative range of people. The report shows that the closure of churches has disproportionately affected low-income marginalised communities over the last ten years.

For the report ‘Is the Church losing faith in low-income communities in Greater Manchester?’, the researchers mapped closures in Greater Manchester over the past decade in relation to the indices of deprivation, across five denominations (Church of England, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist and United Reformed Churches). Only the United Reformed Church had more closures in affluent areas. Reasons cited for closures included declining attendance; buildings falling into disrepair and unaffordable upkeep; and a lack of clergy. According to Church Action on Poverty, these do not explain the imbalance between areas.

Niall Cooper, director of Church Action on Poverty – of which Quakers are a member – called on other denominations to make ‘substantial long-term resource commitments’ to churches and communities on the margins.

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