Poverty and hardship can affect us all, whether we or our communities are perceived as rich or poor. This means it's important to be careful of the language we use. Talking about ‘the poor’ or deprived communities as though they are somehow ‘other’ risks both reinforcing judgemental attitudes and further disempowering the most vulnerable.
Poverty is about more than income - it's a web of interlinked factors relating to economic position, material conditions and social relationships that together have a significant impact on an individual’s ability to flourish. Income inequality intersects with a range of other inequalities, including race, gender, disability and class.Health and social outcomes are lower across the whole of society in rich countries (like the UK) that have the biggest disparity between the most and least well off.
Our diocese is demographically diverse, meaning where people live can make a big difference to the opportunities available to them and to their access to public services. Local conversations suggest these gaps may be growing. In city centres like Oxford, there are complex needs within a tight space, while in suburbs, the most vulnerable may be hidden from view, and in hamlets, residents may experience isolation and difficulty accessing health and other public services. Hidden poverty is common and, as a church, we need proactively to look for what is hidden, bringing reality to light (learning about hidden poverty through this devotional study is a great place to start).
Whether we're talking about poverty that exists within our local communities or experienced by our global neighbours, Christians should have the confidence to take action, and call our political leaders to act, to bring about an end to poverty, in line with our faith in God and His vision for the world.
- Senior leaders from churches and charities (including Christian Aid, Churches Together in England, and Tearfund) are calling political leaders to set out clear plans to eradicate extreme poverty and halve overall poverty by 2030, both in the UK and globally - read the statement here.
- Run Christian Aid's Act of Poverty: Lent course in your church, or join them online every Thursday evening throughout Lent, to take part in a conversation about how to act on poverty, become changemakers, speak truth to power, and shape the political agenda - more info here.
- Hidden Hardship devotional study guide: hardship can often be hidden, especially in affluent-appearing communities. This devotional study guide seeks to help Christians in both rural and urban areas to better understand and eliminate hidden hardship, through scripture, reflection, and ndividual’s experience of hardship. Find out more here.
Jump to: Income poverty | Food poverty | Digital poverty | Other resources | Cost of living | Stories
Income poverty
People can be disadvantaged in any number of ways which are both caused by and contribute to income poverty. These include mental health, poor educational achievement, nutrition, and relationship networks. Income poverty is closely related to the other issues addressed below.
When deprivation occurs alongside extreme affluence, this may result in not only individuals and families who are struggling not being recognised by official statistics, but also requiring them to share services (schools, hospitals, etc) with others with different extremes of experience, exacerbating feelings of inadequacy and isolation.
The perception that Oxford is ‘an affluent diocese’ does not always tie up with what is seen on the ground.
Food poverty
Food poverty is deeply entwined with income poverty, with many people finding themselves choosing between turning the heating on, buying their children new school shoes, and food. Everyone should have access to enough, healthy food which meet their dietary requirements.
Eating is not just a biological act, but also a political and ecological one. In his book The Spirituality of Fasting, Charles M Murphy says:
"Eating is… a religious act that celebrates our greatest ties to God, the earth, and one another. Thinking of eating in this way helps us to realise how greatly reduced and less satisfying eating has become when it is nothing more than a refuelling exercise engaged in alone and on the run."
Food is linked to our body image, physical and mental health, our culture and how we engage with others, politics and spirituality.
Digital poverty
Digital exclusion is becoming an increasingly important issue as more services move online - a process accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. More people are using digital technology to communicate than ever before. This can easily lead to exclusion for those who are not able to be so digitally connected.
Digital exclusion may be a result of income poverty whereby individuals or families cannot afford devices like computers or phone or sufficient data/wifi.
Digital exclusion can also be caused by rurality, where isolated villages or hamlets have insufficient broadband speeds, inhibiting streaming, video calls, or even creating difficulty loading straightforward webpages. Still others lack the digital skills to use the internet or don't feel confident in navigating a digital world.