Ruth Perrin on Resilient Faith

‘Resilient Faith’ explores findings ‘from a 2-year project exploring the shape and impact of their religious faith on millennial Christians living in Northeast England’.

Ruth Perrin builds on her earlier (2020) research on the faith lives of millennials ‘by examining the ongoing faith journey of that demographic group through the next decade’.

Six themes emerged from their accounts:

1. Maturing Millennial Faith: The desire to follow Jesus

2. How Faith Helps: The desire for hope and a future

3. Faith and Parenthood (or not): The desire for family

4. Faith and Friendship: The desire for deep connection

5. Millennials and Church: The desire for community

6. Faith and Purpose: The desire to bring about change

The report contains materials to facilitate discussion with millennials and consider practical implications from the findings.

See here for more details.

Theos Report on People, Place, and Purpose: Churches and Neighbourhood Resilience

The latest report from Theos has recently been published:

Paul Bickley, People, Place, and Purpose: Churches and Neighbourhood Resilience (London: Theos, 2018).

Here are some paragraphs from the Theos website:

‘We are living through a period of profound political, social and economic disruption.

‘Britain’s intended departure from the European Union creates new risks, uncertainties and – no doubt – opportunities. The ability of the cash-starved public services to help people navigate challenging circumstances is now questioned in a way that it has not been for 30 years. As civil society attempts to ‘plug the gap’, churches and faith-based organisations have achieved a new public legitimacy.

‘How can churches act in a ways that don’t just meet people’s immediate needs, but also build their capacity to negotiate uncertain times? Can they help neighbourhoods become more resilient?

‘Based on intensive research in three vulnerable communities in the North East of England, this report highlights the importance of engaging people in common action, curating places of public gathering, and refusing stories of decline and degeneration. In other words, churches can help build resilience neighbourhoods by focusing on people, place and purpose.’

A pdf of the full report is available here.