QUOTES FROM THE MEDIA
NUMBER OF CHRISTIANS IN ENGLAND AND WALES FALLS TO HALF THE POPULATION Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics have revealed a marked decline in the number of people identifying as Christian in England and Wales. Figures from 2019 show that only 51 per cent are Christian, while those with no religion account for over a third. It marks a considerable drop from the 2011 census, when Christians made up 59 per cent of the population. The fall in Christian affiliation coincides with an increase in those recording no religion, which has grown from 32.3 per cent in 2011 to 38.4 per cent now… The results of the 2021 census are due to be published [this] year and are expected to show a further decline in Christian identification… The [Church of England’s] figures for 2020 also show a 7 per cent drop in the worshipping community on the previous year. A spokesperson for the Church said the figures were ‘very much in line with expectations and really underline the scale of the challenge churches faced in the first year of the pandemic’. Christian Today
PANDEMIC CONTINUES TO HIT CHARITY FUNDRAISING, REPORT SUGGESTS Charities have been hit – and some forced to close – by a fall in donations during the pandemic, research for a City of London wealth-management firm suggests. More than a third (36 per cent) of donors and almost half (44 per cent) of fundraisers had cut back on giving and other promotional activity, James Hambro and Partners said. This follows a report [in November], also for James Hambro, that the drop in revenue for some British charities had brought them to the brink of closure. More than half of 100 charities with investable assets of at least £1 million reported that their income had fallen by more than 30 per cent. All but three said that cutbacks in their work were being considered or had already been made, and eight were facing permanent closure. The latest research by Consumer Intelligence, which interviewed 989 adults, found that the drop in regular monthly payments and activity by donors and fundraisers was caused by cuts in their own income.
The only Roman-era crucifixion victim found outside the Holy Land has been discovered in Britain. Radiocarbon-dating tests suggest that the victim, found in Cambridgeshire, was executed in the third or early fourth century AD, probably in about 250. This would coincide with the empire-wide persecution under Decius, during which thousands of Christians are thought to have been executed… Albion Archaeology found the crucifixion victim in what had been a Roman roadside settlement at Fenstanton, 13 miles northwest of Cambridge. Aged between 25 and 35, he was probably a slave… His right foot contains the nail, hammered in horizontally through the back of his ankle and his heel… At present, there is no evidence to prove that … [the] victim was a Christian martyr. But the classical historian Professor Roger Rees, of the University of St Andrews, says that radiocarbon-dating ‘clearly raises the possibility’.
Church Times
Church Times
UNIVERSAL CREDIT CHANGES ‘SEVERELY IMPACTING’ THE POOREST, SAYS CHRISTIAN CHARITY The charity Christians Against Poverty (Cap) says many of its clients are falling further into debt because of the scrapping of the £20 a week universal credit uplift... Its survey of 291 people found that over a third had already fallen behind with bills, with a quarter falling into even more debt. Cap’s social policy manager, Rachel Gregory, [told] Premier the rising cost of living is making the situation even worse: ‘It’s severely impacting people’s standards of living in the most basic ways…’ The universal credit uplift ended on 6 October 2021. A month later, Cap’s survey found 49 per cent had already fallen behind with bills or expect to in the next six months. Premier
SALVATIONIST salvationarmy.org.uk/salvationist Issue No 1840
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Salvationist 8 January 2022
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