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This Morning I Am Wondering...

.. why so many of us (by us I mean well meaning Christian church going people) seem to want to do whatever we can to protect anyone before they are born (or even potentially viable).. But once you are born you are on your own. If you are poor we will blame your parents and let you wallow in poverty.


These stats are from the Church Urban Fund.

"There is also an apparent lack of awareness of poverty among the laity; only 37% of regular churchgoers think there is ‘quite a lot’ of child poverty in Britain, compared with 78% of clergy. This is in stark contrast to the latest UK poverty figures, which show that up to four million children – or nearly one in three – are living in poverty...

"Possibly more surprising is the finding that churchgoers’ attitudes to poverty are little different to those of non-churchgoers. Churchgoers are no more aware of poverty and no more likely to attribute it to social injustice than non-churchgoers. In another question, only 36% of regular churchgoers said they think large income differences are ‘morally wrong’ – the same proportion as for non-churchgoers, and substantially lower than the 74% of clergy who agree with this statement."

Its time to get serious about poverty in the developed world.

(you can read more of CUF's findings here)

Comments

Anonymous said…
Surely part of the problem is that if we really take a long look at the problems, if we engage with the level of child poverty in this country and all the contributing factors, then we find ourselves in a place where we are compelled to do something. Which scares us and overwhelms us. And so it's much easier not to give it much headspace.

Which is best to say - "I don't think it's a big/serious problem", or "I think it's a terrible problem and I'm not doing anything about it."

These aren't meant as excuses, only reflections on how we find ourselves here. I think it's a terrible problem but my response doesn't really extend beyond trying to befriend the kids on our estate.
11:05 am
Jude said…
Never underestimate the power of being friends: part of our problem is that we have turned people who are not like us into project fodder- so we have stopped being friends..

Its only when you know people that you can get your head round it?
7:22 am
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