Is Church a middle class organisation?

How is the Church made up?

It's not something you would expect but the established Church in the UK has many problems. It's not a question of intention but the outcome of years of custom and practice in the history of the Church.

A look at church attendance broken down by the classes that sociologists use shows that the Church attracts 24% more of the well off and well educated A, B social grades, but attracts less over the C1, C2, D, and E grades. Its clear that the make up of the Church in the UK shows a dominance of people with a professional, upper or middle management background. It also shows that those from junior management down through skilled and unskilled workers to the unemployed are under represented. To sum up then the evidence from the Tearfund survey is that the Church in the UK favours the well off by a large margin.

Chart of UK Church attendance by social grade

Source:Tearfund report on Churchgoing Apr. 2007 App. Fig 7,8

 Key to social grades

Downloadable chart

Once again this aspect of the report repeats findings found in previous studies, for example an article in the Independent on 5th November 2001 based on a data from Christian Research found that Churchgoing was 10% of the population in well off areareas and only 5.9% in areas with the lowest-income. The evidence from a number of sources confirms that churchgoing in the UK is a middle class activity.

Why so many middle class?

While poor and often illiterate people in Africa are being baptised at the rate of 50,000 a week, in the UK the poor and less well educated are the least likely to attend Church. While this is true for the Church in general, it is also true that Churches of ethnic minorities in London are growing at an amazing rate. The survey found that amongst ethnic groups in the UK 48% of black people went to Church and 86% of Asians practised other religions.

Given these examples the suggestion that going to Church is a middle class pursuit is invalid and we must look elsewhere for a cause. When a car production line produces cars with the bumpers on upside down, you do not blame the bumpers but the system for producing cars. In the same way the congregations we have are a product of the established Church. Given the large size of the disparity and the low attendance rate at Church, it suggests that the imbalance is caused by the Church repelling people who are not middle class. The conclusion we must come to must be that the problem of social imbalance lies with the established Church its self.

What is a Christian response?

If we say that Churchgoing in the UK is a middle or even upper class activity then what do we mean by this? Some Christians think that is how it is meant to be and see no reason to change it, while others would see it as critical fault that needs urgent attention. If we turn to the word of God there is one passage that seems to challenge the very idea of a middle class Church.

Favouritism Forbidden

My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favouritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, Here's a good seat for you, but say to the poor man, You stand there or Sit on the floor by my feet, have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, Love your neighbour as yourself, you are doing right. But if you show favouritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as law-breakers.

James 2:1-9 NIV

Here James is taking about what happens in Church when a wealthy and a poor man arrive. It's how people take their queue from the situation and treat the wealthy person different from the poor. A subconscious behaviour we might say, but one none the less that discriminates. Then James explains it's the poor that are rich in faith and this behaviour falls short of the great commandment (Matt 22:34-40).

Key to social grades.

A Professionals, very senior managers in business, top civil servants. Retired people, previously grade A, and their widows.
B Middle management executives in large organisations, with appropriate qualifications. Retired people, previously grade B, and their widows.
C1 Junior management, owners of small establishments, and all other non-manual positions.C1, and their widows.
C2 Skilled manual workers and manual workers with responsibility for other people. Retired people, previously grade C2, with pensions from their job.Widows, if receiving pensions from their late husband's job.
D Semi-skilled and un-skilled manual workers and apprentices/trainees to skilled workers. Retired people, previously grade D, with pensions from their job.Widows, if receiving pensions from their late husband's job.
E All those entirely dependent on the State long-term, through sickness, unemployment, old age etc. Those unemployed for a period exceeding 6 months (otherwise classified on previous occupation). Casual workers with no regular income.

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