Class and the evangelical church in England

Posted on February 28, 2023 
Filed under Church of England

“I have been asked to write some observations on class in the evangelical church in England.

Those who asked me apparently think that my Australian background gives me an advantage; I am not embedded in the British class system myself, so can be more objective. I’m not sure that this is all that much an advantage: class in Britain is a very complicated and deeply-entrenched matter, not at all easy to understand. It still surprises me that even after 17 years living and working in Britain, I find certain aspects of the class system entirely foreign. Reading and researching on class issues has demonstrated that there is a lot that even now I had never realised, in particular the how powerful are the emotions and attitudes involved. The classes are different, in significant ways, and it really matters to people.

What has struck me most, and what will be the main point of this series of articles, is that running middle-class churches will not reach the working classes. …”

– Kirsten Birkett begins a series of articles at Church Society.