Clergy in Place in England : Bias to the Poor or Inverse Care Law?

Faith traditions frequently proclaim priority for the poor and socially marginalised, emphasising individual and collective responsibility towards those in poverty. Ordained ministers or clergy – possibly the main investment of religious organisations – play a key role in encouraging and fulfilling that commitment in their local settings. This paper considers the availability of clergy to provide pastoral care in areas of high socio-economic deprivation. Data from the 2011 census of England are used to correlate area variations in the number of clergy with household and neighbourhood deprivation. Findings show that clergy are distributed inversely to socio-economic deprivation at the ecological level. Fewer clergy are available or readily accessible in the most deprived areas, raising questions about their ability to respond pastorally and act politically on behalf of the poor. Market forces that draw clergy deployments towards less deprived areas warrant further investigation

Religion, Resources and Representation: three narratives of engagement in British urban governance

Faith groups are increasingly regarded as important civil society participants in British urban governance. Faith engagement is linked to policies of social inclusion and “community cohesion,” particularly in the context of government concerns about radicalization along religious lines. Primary research is drawn upon in developing a critical and explicitly multifaith analysis of faith involvement. A narrative approach is used to contrast the different perspectives of national pol- icy makers, local stakeholders, and faith actors themselves. The narratives serve to illuminate not only this specific case but also the more general character of British urban governance as it takes on a more “decentered” form with greater blurring of boundaries between the public, private, and personal

Religious communities, immigration, and social cohesion in rural areas: Evidence from England

Religious communities are important sources of bridging and bonding social capital that have varying implications for perceptions of social cohesion in rural areas. In particular, as well as cultivating cohesiveness more broadly, the bridging social capital associated within mainline religious communities may represent an especially important source of support for the social integration of new immigrant groups. Although the bonding social capital associated with evangelical communities is arguably less conducive to wider social cohesion, it may prompt outreach work by those communities, which can enhance immigrant integration. This article examines these assumptions by exploring the relationship between mainline and evangelical religious communities, immigration, and residents' perceptions of social cohesion in rural areas in England. I model the separate and combined effects of religious communities and economic in-migration on social cohesion using multivariate statistical techniques. The analysis suggests that mainline Protestant communities enhance social cohesion in rural Englwhile evangelical communities do not. The social integration of immigrants appears to be more likely where mainline Protestant and Catholic communities are strong, but is unaffected by the strength of evangelical ones

The project worker A guide to employing staff in church projects

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:m00/18804 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

A guide to deanery audits

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:m00/42495 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Faiths, hope and participation Celebrating faith groups' role in neighbourhood renewal

Item is based on fourteen 'Taking part' workshops held between 1999 and 2001Available from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:m02/21461 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo