Life on the Breadline National Church Leader Interviews, 2019-2020

Shannahan, Christopher (2023). Life on the Breadline National Church Leader Interviews, 2019-2020. [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Service. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-856267

Life on the Breadline was a three year qualitative research project that ran from 2018-2021. The project arose from a recognition that as the state withdrew during the Age of Austerity begun after the 2010 UK General Election, the Church was increasingly stepping in to fill the gap, as seen, for example, in relation to the siting of 75% of UK food banks in local church buildings. The Age of Austerity demonstrated the ongoing active role of the Church in civil society politics, due to its presence and influence in neighbourhoods across the UK [especially socially excluded neighbourhoods]. The research team hold the view that academic research should be a force for progressive social change and a resource for those struggling for social justice in the face of structural injustice. The aim of the project, which drew on theology and the social sciences, was to explore, describe and analyse the the nature, extent and impact of Christian responses to poverty in the UK since the 2008 global financial crash. We sought to develop resources and a variety of outputs that would enable Churches to become more effective and informed in their anti-poverty activism and help policymakers to develop a greater awareness of the role played by faith groups in responding to poverty. During the project we further sought to engage with the complexity of poverty [fuel poverty, low pay, housing justice and child poverty as well as food poverty].

During the project we conducted interviews with national church leaders from thirteen UK-based Christian denominations, ran a survey of regional Church leaders from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and developed six ethnographic case studies highlighting different aspects of poverty (e.g. food poverty, housing justice, low pay, fuel poverty or unemployment), different Christian traditions and theological perspectives and different geographical locations (2 case studies were in Birmingham, 2 were in London and 2 were in London). Interviewees and survey participants were selected because they held strategic leadership roles in their denomination and case studies were selected to to reflect geographical spread, a range of differing Christian traditions and different aspects of poverty.

The project gave rise to a wide range of academic and social outputs, free to download resources, a photographic exhibition, church leader and policymaker reports, CPD and short courses and animated videos. Details about many of these can be found on the Life on the Breadline website - https://breadlineresearch.coventry.ac.uk/

Data description (abstract)

Interview questions and interview transcripts of interviews with the national leaders from different Christian denominations in the UK. The interviews address contemporary poverty in the UK - Its causes and the response of different UK Churches.

The interviews reflect a range of different factors - the size of different denominations, the links of denominations to the state and different theological perspectives about Christian engagement with politics.

Data creators: